Potter and Evans: Through the Years
by born.four.this
Summary: R&R. Lily Evans. Bookworm, teacher's pet, prefect, head girl. James Potter. Popular, arrogant toerag, prefect, head boy. Two very opposite people, but thrown together, will the inevitiable happen? Will they fall in love? Read and find out. :
1. 1: First Day

**A/N - So this is the story of Lily and James throughout their Hogwarts career. **

**Year One**

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_**Chapter One**_

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining; there was a light breeze, a great day for August. Lily Evans made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen where she found her mother, father, and sister Petunia sitting around the kitchen table. Lily and Petunia had always been somewhat close. They rarely fought and would play dolls whenever they needed a friend. Being eleven, all you want to do is play silly games. Today was Lily's eleventh birthday. August 8th. Her parents weren't the richest family around, but they managed. Lily's gifts were sitting upon the table, ready to be opened. There were 9 presents. Some quite large and others not so much. She sat down to start her breakfast when her mother told her that she could open her gifts first if she'd like. She started tearing the wrapping paper off immediately. She received a new doll, a book she'd been waiting for so long to read, a new radio, a jump rope, a pair of skates that once belonged to her mother, some socks (she had holes in every pair), a journal, a picture frame with a picture of her and Petunia in it, and some sidewalk chalk. She hugged her parents tightly, and started on her breakfast. It was going to be a good day.

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James had awoken early on this beautiful day, which was strange, he never got up early. He looked outside the window and noticed the sun was shining brightly, and there was a faint breeze. He got dressed and walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to eat. That boy could eat all day and never be full.

"Good morning James." Said Melinda. Melinda was the Potters' housekeeper. The Potters were a rich family. They had a huge mansion and could always afford the best. James, being an only child, got lonely in his enormous house all alone though. His parents were never home. Their job kept them away for long periods at a time. His only company, was Melinda.

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Lily and Petunia had decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and use some of Lily's new presents. They drew on the sidewalk with her new chalk, took turns roller skating, played dolls, and even got their mother into playing some jump rope with them. Later that evening, when everyone was coming inside and settling down for dinner, the strangest thing happened. A barn owl had swooped in through the open window and perched itself upon the chair Lily was about to sit in. Curious to why an owl had just appeared, she went to stroke it, noticing there was a letter attached to its leg. She reached to untie it and flipped it over to see who the letter was addressed to. Oddly enough, it was for her. Who did she know who sent mail by owl?

"What is it dear?" Her mother asked.

"It's a letter, to me." She replied.

"Who sends mail by owls?" Petunia asked.

"I don't know." Lily replied.

"Well open it!" Petunia urged.

She flipped the letter over once again and noticed that the letter was sealed with a strange seal. It was a large H. She split the seal and took out the parchment inside. It was a fairly full letter. She unfolded the first piece of parchment. It read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Ms. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than August 10.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

Lily could not believe her eyes. She was a witch? Since when?

"Well what does it say dear?" Mr. Evans asked.

"It says that I've been accepted at a school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She said softly.

"That's wonderful! Well write them back tell them you'll go!" Her mother was saying. Lily scribbled down her reply and sent it back with the same owl. She opened the second piece of paper noticing it was a list of books she needed to get before term started. She had no idea where to get these books from. She stopped the owl before it flew out the window and also wrote that she did not know where to get the items on her list for school and it would be nice to get a response back A.S.A.P. She sent the owl one last time and watched it fly away until she couldn't see it anymore.

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As James sat down for dinner, an owl had floated through the window the same moment his parents had walked through the door. They walked in and grabbed the letter off of the owl's leg and ripped it open, not even noticing who the letter was addressed to.

"Honey, look! Our son has gotten into Hogwarts!" His mother shrieked.

"Thadda boy. James." His father said and clapped him on the back. Hogwarts was where his parents went. His whole family had gone there; he came from a pureblood family, all of which were in Gryffindor. It was immense pressure awaiting the letter, and then awaiting the house he was to be put into.

"Well, we'll just have to stop into Diagon Alley tomorrow." Mrs. Potter said. "Now grab some food and get into bed son."

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The next morning Lily woke up to the sound of an owl hooting. There was an owl perched outside her windowsill waiting for her to take its letter. She quickly jumped out of bed and let the owl in. It landed on the chair that pushed into the desk. She untied the letter and opened the Hogwarts seal once again. This time the letter read:

Dear Ms. Evans,

You can get all of your supplies in Diagon Alley. I'll be sure to send Rubeus Hagrid out to help you tomorrow. When a large man appears asking for you, don't be frightened, it is only Rubeus. He will show you around Diagon Alley to buy your school supplies. Happy Holidays.

Minerva McGonagall

_Deputy Headmistress_

She scribbled the word 'thanks' on the parchment and sent it with the owl once again. She got dressed and began packing everything she could for school. Afterwards, she made her way downstairs to eat breakfast and sat next to Petunia. Petunia gave her a disgusted look and moved away from her sister. Lily, slightly confused, shrugged and ate her bacon. All she could think about was September the first.

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James and his parents had gone to Diagon Alley the next day to go shopping for his school supplies. He was quite bored with it. His parents had been discussing which was better the whole time in every store they went to. Was this better or that? Finally they came across the wand store, Ollivander's. James didn't even notice.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, come to find yourself the perfect wand, are we?"

"Um…yeah." He replied.

"Try this one." Mr. Ollivander handed him a wand. James waved it and it caused a vase with flowers in it to explode at once.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" James started apologizing.

"Try this one." Mr. Ollivander handed him another one, not the least bit worried about his flowers. There was a faint glowing at the end of the wand tip. "That's the one." His parents paid for his wand and they made their way home. James had been waiting all day for this. He was very excited about going to Hogwarts. Meeting kids his own age, and most of all, being away from his parents and his huge house.

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September the first arrived slowly but surely. Lily had gotten all of her school supplies with Hagrid and had been awaiting the day she would leave ever since. She knew she had to get onto Platform 9 3/4, but she wasn't sure how because there was no Platform 9 3/4. Why was everyone leaving out tiny important details with her? She noticed a family going to the brick wall between Platforms 9 and 10. She watched as they walked right through the wall. She looked around and proceeded to the same wall and walked through it as well. When she ended up on the other side, she saw a large train engine, and many families saying goodbye to their children as they boarded the train. Lily's family was too busy to see her off, but she didn't think they'd be able to now anyway. She stepped onto the train and pulled her trunk with her, looking for an empty compartment. She figured if she was going to meet somebody, it would be much less pressure on her if they joined her in her compartment. To her luck, she found one and loaded her trunk above the seats. She took a seat by the window and opened her book. She could hear other students outside her compartment greeting each other because they hadn't seen each other all summer. She looked forward to the day when she could do that.

She heard bustling outside her compartment and the sound of someone huffing their way down the hall. She looked inside Lily's compartment and asked:

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Lily replied. She watched the girl struggle putting her trunk above the seat, and then she plopped down into the seat opposite Lily.

"I'm Julia by the way. I'm a first year."

"I'm Lily, I'm a first year too."

"Oh thank goodness. I have no idea what to do; I'm a muggleborn. Are you a muggleborn or a pureblood?"

"Um, what are they?"

"Well, a pureblood is someone who comes from a long line of wizards and a muggleborn is the opposite."

"Oh, I'm a muggleborn then."

"Wow, already finding things in common. So are you as confused as I am?"

"Yeah actually." Just then, another girl came into the compartment and threw her trunk up by Julia's and sat down, not even asking if she could or not. Lily and Julia thought she was an older student, so didn't argue, in case she was. It got really quiet.

"I'm Megan." She said. "I'm a first year, what about you two?"

"We're both first years too. I'm Julia, and this is Lily." They had a nice conversation the whole way to school. Turns out that Megan came from a half and half family. Her dad was a wizard, her mom was a muggle. She was really tomboyish and Julia was really girly girl. By time they had gotten to Hogwarts, they were already really good friends. They had changed and gotten off the train and stepped outside. It was starting to drizzle. They heard someone calling for first years to follow them. It was Hagrid. He led them to the lake where there were hundreds of tiny boats. What was he going to have them do?

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James arrived at King's Cross Station at quarter to eleven. His parents led him straight to a small stretch of brick wall between the platforms 9 and 10. His parents pushed him through the wall. He closed his eyes, expecting pain, but fell right through the wall to the other side. He saw the big red engine and climbed on it as soon as he saw it.

"By sweetie!" His mom yelled. He didn't hear or care. He just started looking for a compartment to sit in. He looked for an empty one, but had no luck, so he settled in one with a very scared looking boy.

"Excuse me," James started, the boy jumped at the sound of a voice. "would it be alright if I sat here?" He finished politely.

"Of course!" The boy said hurriedly. James threw his trunk above the seats and sat down.

"I'm James, and you are?"

"Remus. Remus Lupin." James and Remus began talking. They had quite a heated conversation. James was usually a big troublemaker, Remus seemed to be a goody two shoes. _Great I picked the wrong compartment to be in._ James thought. Not two seconds later, another boy came in. He had dark hair that hung in his face a little bit. Of what face was showing, he looked very handsome. Definitely someone to compete with, but there was no competition, this boy was much more handsome.

"Can I stay here?" The boy asked.

"Sure." James and Remus said.

"I'm Sirius."

"I'm James and this is Remus. We're first years, what about you?"

"Yeah, I'm a first year." Sirius seemed to be a lot like James. Troublemakers, but there was still Remus. He seemed really jumpy and scared of every little thing.

Another boy decided he would ask to join the compartment too. His name was Peter, he was every bit as jumpy as Remus.

After awhile, the train slowed to a stop and they jumped off the train. They didn't know where to go, but they heard someone calling first years, so they decided to follow the big man calling first years.

It was starting to drizzle, and by the looks of it, they had to ride in the small boats over to the castle. That did not look fun.

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"Four kids to a boat!" Hagrid yelled once all the first years had gathered around the boats. Julia, Megan, and Lily all climbed into a boat, but they still needed one more. Once everyone was situated in boats, they started moving on their own towards the castle. It also started raining a little harder.

By time they made it to the school, they were all soaked. Lily, Megan, and Julia stepped off of the boat and hurried into the school. She ended up standing next to her new friends, and a group of boys. The boy standing next to her looked at her and gaped.

"Can I help you?" Lily asked.

"Sorry, you have a **huge** bug in your hair." He said. Lily screamed.

"Get it out! Get it out!"

"Here, I'll get it." James said. He pretended to grab something out of her hair and flung it behind them. He turned back to his friends and noticed that the one with long hair gave him the thumbs up. There was never a bug in her hair. But before Lily could yell at him, a lady decided to come to the front of the first years and explain what was going on.

"You're going to go in there and sit upon the stool and put the sorting hat on your head. It'll then decide what house you'll be in and you can go sit with your house." The group of first years followed the lady into the Great Hall where the rest of the school awaited. That's when it hit Lily; the whole school is going to be watching.

The lady that led them into the Great Hall pulled out a scroll that apparently had a list of the first years.

"Abbott, Daniel" was sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Black, Sirius" was sorted into Gryffindor. He was a very handsome boy who had given the 'bug boy' the thumbs up.

"Carmichael, Jeffrey" was also into Gryffindor.

"Davies, Robert" was sorted into Slytherin.

"Evans, Lily" Lily made her way up to the stool, sat down, and put the hat on her head. The hat fell over her eyes so she couldn't see anything else, all she could hear was the hat talking to himself.

"Well, you shouldn't be in Slytherin, definitely not. Not Hufflepuff either, no, no. Your smart enough to be in Ravenclaw, yes, but I think you should be in…GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table clapped for her. She felt warm inside and sat down.

"Finch-Fletchley, Jacob" went to Hufflepuff.

"Green, Leslie" was the first sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Hubbard, Riley" was sorted into Gryffindor.

"Johnson, Jacob" into Hufflepuff.

"Longbottom, Frank" into Gryffindor.

"Lupin, Remus" into Gryffindor.

"Malfoy, Lucius" into Slytherin.

"Nott, Timothy" into Slytherin.

"Potter, James" That was the boy who had told Lily she had a bug in her hair. She knew already that she would not get along with him. Not at all. James Potter, what a stupid name. Perfect fit for a stupid boy. He was sorted into Gryffindor as well. _Even better. _Lily thought.

After that, Lily just zoned out. She didn't care about the other kids and what houses they were sorted into. She was simply waiting to see what was for dinner, sitting next to her new friends, who also joined the Gryffindor house. The other two, sitting across from Lily, had started drooling. Then, to Lily's dismay, the stupid boy, James Potter and his friends came and sat in the open spots next to Lily. She groaned and that seemed to egg James on even more.

"I'm sorry; I don't think I caught your name. I'm James, by the way. You look much nicer without that nasty bug in your hair." She would have gotten up and left, had there been any seats open. Seeing there wasn't, she was forced to stay where she was. James had tried conversing with her all through dinner, but Lily just ignored him. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to endure him much longer. After dinner, a few of the older students started calling for Gryffindors. From what she heard, they were Prefects. She followed the Gryffindor Prefects to the seventh floor where there was a giant portrait of a fat lady in an ugly pink dress.

"Password?" The fat lady said. At this, Lily jumped, she didn't know that the pictures moved in the wizarding world.

"Flobberworm mucous." Said one of the Gryffindor Prefects. "You need to know the password in order to get into the common room." They entered the common room when the Prefects said: "Boys on the left, girls on the right." Lily, Megan, and Julia went to the right and up the stairs. The doors were numbered one through seven. She guessed the numbers were for which year you were in. Lily and her friends went into one of the rooms with a number one on it. There were already a few girls in there. They later found out that their names were Susie Brown and Abigail Rogers. They all settled in and went to bed, for they had classes starting tomorrow.

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"Four kids to a boat!" Yelled the extremely large man. The four new friends had jumped into a boat together. Peter hesitating, he thought he was going to sink the boat. The slight drizzle had turned into a slight downpour. By time they reached the school, they were all soaked. He ended up standing next to a group of girls, one of which had caught James' eye. He looked at her, and couldn't help but stare. The girl seemed to have noticed too, because the next thing he knew, she looked at him and said:

"Can I help you?" James, not expecting this, quickly came up with a lie; he was good at that.

"Sorry, but you have a **huge** bug in your hair." The girl started screaming and flailing. He pretended to pick the "bug" out of her hair to 'save' her, even though she really didn't need to be saved. He turned towards the front of the group seeing that a woman had approached the crowd.

"You're going to go in there and sit upon the stool and put the sorting hat on your head. It'll then decide what house you'll be in and you can go sit with your house." The group of first years followed the lady into the Great Hall where the rest of the school awaited.

The group of first years walked into the Great Hall, and once they did, the whole group tightened. Apparently being in front of the whole school put a lot of pressure on the group. James didn't really see why it did. He didn't really pay attention to the group of students who went up and down to the appropriate table. He just had to pay attention to when the lady got to the P's. He looked up when the girl with the 'bug' got up to the stool. He didn't hear her name, but watched as the hat decided what house she belonged to. The hat had finally made it's decision and shouted:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

James smiled; he already knew he was going to be in Gryffindor, his whole family had been. He was going to get to know the 'bug girl' quite well.

The lady had finally reached "Potter, James" and he sat down upon the stool. He waited only a moment before the hat screamed: "GRYFFINDOR!" He knew it. He walked to the table cheering for him and noticed there was a spot next to the 'bug girl'. He took this opportunity to get to know her.

"I'm sorry; I don't think I caught your name. I'm James, by the way. You look much nicer without that nasty bug in your hair." She gave him a dirty look. She obviously didn't want to talk with him. He kept trying to make conversation, but she kept ignoring him. _That's okay, I've got **seven years** to get to know her…_ James thought wondrously, then realizing he probably looked stupid, changed his face.

Soon dinner was over and they had to go to the dormitories. James had not even realized, the time was flying so fast. They reached the seventh floor and the Prefects were saying something about the password. James would get it later. He climbed inside and went to the left with the other boys. He then went into a room with the number one labeled on it and he walked right in. There was already a boy in the room. He seemed kind of shy; apparently his name was Frank Longbottom. They all settled into bed, and awaited classes for tomorrow morning.

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**Ok, so this is how it's going down. I'm going to go through every year at Hogwarts for James and Lily. Each chapter is NOT going to be a year, but you'll know when I change years. I promise. So right now this is the first night being at Hogwarts for the kiddies!! Exciting? Yes. So yeah, pretty much they just met and already Lily doesn't like James. I like it. Please review? kthx**


	2. 1: A Little Underdressed

**So did you liiike it? I hope sooooo. I'll keep it short. K here:**

**Year One**

**Chapter Two**

The next morning, Lily woke up bright and early; she wanted to look nice for her first day of school. She got into the bathroom and took a shower. After her shower she did her hair and a touch of make-up; she was never really into make-up that much. She put on her school uniform and looked in the mirror. _How can you look good in this outfit?_ She wondered. And she was right. She didn't have time to contemplate changing, even though she knew she wasn't allowed to. She went downstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast. She entered and noticed how much more empty it looked at breakfast time rather than the night before at the feast. She went over to the Gryffindor table where she saw Julia and Megan. She grabbed some toast and spread some jelly on it and ate it quickly. The three of them were approached by the lady that had welcomed them the night before. It turns out it was Professor McGonagall.

"Here are your schedules ladies." Professor McGonagall said and moved on to the next group of people. They took a look at their schedules and smiled. Lily was very excited to start class; she was also very nervous, but extremely excited. Their first class was Charms with Professor Flitwick. They each finished their breakfast and ran back up to their dormitory to grab their things. They came down the stairs and turned into the Charms hallway; Megan and Julia talking the whole way. They were all still trying to get to know each other. Lily walked on in silence. She was a very shy person and didn't open up very well. They all sat down next to each other. When everyone had entered, a short, little man appeared at the front of the room; although this was unnoticed by many. He had to have only been 2 feet tall. Lily herself was examining the room. There were many stacks of books. The room was a mess.

"Ahem!" Professor Flitwick coughed. Everyone's eyes suddenly flew around the room, looking for who caused the noise. Red sparks were suddenly in the air above the teacher's head. Everyone's eyes focus on him immediately. "I am Professor Flitwick, and I'm your charms teacher, if you didn't know that already. Today will not be much, I'd really like to set up a seating chart and work on getting to know you today." He said and conjured up a piece of paper that had names on it. He started calling out names and pointing to spots where they would sit. Megan was in the front row on the left side, and Julia had been in the back row on the same side. He had not called Lily's name yet.

"Black? Yes, you'll sit here. Then, Evans? Yes next to Sirius. And Potter? Right next to Ms. Evans. And Lupin? You'll be next to James." Professor said.

"Alright!" James had said. Lily groaned. _Great, a whole year next to Potter and his best friends. Just what I need, to be harassed. _"This will be a fun year!" Potter and Black gave a high five. Apparently Lily got put between the wrong two.

"Now class, I want you to all sit here for the rest of the year, and tomorrow we'll begin work on the levitating spell." Professor said and they were free to go. Megan, Julia, and Lily started walking back up to the Gryffindor tower for a moment and hang out for a few minutes. Lily needed a break from James and Sirius. After awhile, they went to Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, and then to lunch. Lily was looking forward to lunch so she would get away from James, but, to her luck, she was wrong. James had sat next to her yet again. He was talking the whole time, while Lily pretended to listen. It worked well. He didn't suspect a thing. After lunch, they had Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

After class, the Gryffindor girls trudged up to the common room. Lily was very tired, but couldn't go to sleep yet because she had Transfiguration homework and Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. They made it to the sixth floor when suddenly Lily stopped.

"What is it?" Julia asked her.

"I left my book and my homework assignment in Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Will one of you go with me?" Lily asked, desperate. She did not want to go back to the third floor by herself at night.

"Are you kidding? It's late and dark; I don't want to go back there." Megan said.

"I don't want to go by myself." Lily told them.

"Sorry." Julia said. Lily turned around and headed back down the stairs to the third floor, alone. She entered the classroom and went to her desk where she saw her book lying on the table exactly where she left it. She picked it up and put it into her bag and headed for the door.

Fussing with her bag, she didn't realize that the door started closing as she approached it. There was someone behind the door. Thinking it was James again, she put on this angry face and was ready to tell him off, but it wasn't James; it was Lucius Malfoy. Her facial expression changed immediately. She really didn't know him; she really didn't know anyone to be honest, but least of all this slimy Slytherin boy.

"You know, for a mudblood, you're kind of cute." He said straight off. At the time, Lily didn't even know his name.

"Um…" She didn't know what to say. She had never said a word to this boy before and she wasn't sure how to respond to that comment. "Thanks?"

"Come on, let's have some fun." He said, coming closer; he was backing her into a desk.

"I don't even know you, plus I'm only eleven." She said; her voice shaking. She was getting scared, he would never listen to her if he didn't want to.

"So am I, that doesn't matter." He had her against the desk now. He was an inch from her face, not seeming like he was going to back off.

"HELP!! HELP ME PLEASE!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, having a feeling no one would hear her. All of a sudden, the door opened and in walked the last person Lily would have asked for help, but accepted all the same. James Potter, very confused, came in and plastered this look of curiosity on his face before he said:

"Well Lucius, it seems we have a lot more in common than we thought. Not only do we both plan on trying out for our Quidditch house teams on our first year, we're both after the same girl. Looks like you beat me to her."

"Get out of here, _Potter._" Lucius said with extra emphasis on Potter. It was obvious that Lucius did not like James whatsoever.

"I don't think so _Malfoy._ Get your hands off of her." James said, all traces of joking gone from his face. Lucius hadn't moved an inch. He wasn't going to listen to James. Why should he really? This time James pulled out his wand and pointed it at Lucius. Lucius laughed.

"What are you going to do Potter? Hex me? I bet I know a lot more spells than you do, you don't want to get in a duel with me." Lucius had said, pulling out his wand and instead of pointing it at James as would have been expected, he pointed it at Lily's throat. This scared Lily even more. Now he was going to kill an innocent girl on her first day of school. How nice. _I knew I shouldn't have come alone._ Lily thought. James gave Lucius this look and a head nod, and Lucius lowered his wand and walked out of the room, sneering at James and then back at Lily. She let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Thanks so much, you don't know how scared I was." She confided in him.

"No problem, I'll keep it in mind when you owe me." He said and started walking ahead of Lily. She didn't want to walk alone, and since they were going to the same place, she decided to catch up with him and walk with him. She felt a little more protected being with James.

"What do you mean, '**_when you owe me_**'?"

"You can't think that I'm just going to do this for free? You obviously don't know me. I thought that was understood when I saved you that you would owe me something later on?"

"No it wasn't 'understood'! I was just trying to get out of there alive and still a virgin alright!"

"Sorry, well, you still owe me one." By this time they had reached the portrait of the fat lady. "Flobberworm Mucus." Lily sighed a huge, audible sigh. She was extremely tired, but still had homework. _I've lived through enough tonight._ She thought and climbed the stairs into the girl's dormitories as James flopped onto the couch with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

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"Why were you gone so long? I thought you just went down to get your quill from Defense Against the Dark Arts class?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I did, but I got caught up with some trouble." Sirius laughed.

"I have a feeling that won't be the first time that 'trouble catches up with you.'"

"Yeah, well, it wasn't just anything. You know that prick, Lucius Malfoy?" James asked. The three of them were quiet. Remus didn't know, he was a muggleborn, and Peter was upstairs sleeping. Sirius had a face of extreme dislike.

"Yeah, he's my cousin. What'd he do this time?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I was on my way to the classroom, when I heard someone screaming for help. Coincidentally, it was coming from the classroom I was heading to. The screams were coming from the mouth of Lily Evans."

"Oh boy." Said Remus.

"Yeah, she was bent backwards over a desk with Lucius on top of her. The scene looked very curious to the onlookers' eye, but me, hearing the screams for help, knew differently. She was being attacked. I shared a little joke with Lucius, who didn't find my joke very funny. Finally I got him to get off of her and leave. It took awhile though. He's stupid, thinking he can get some on his first day. From a first year no less! What surprised me was that he was going for Lily. He knows she's a muggleborn. Isn't his family all pureblood?"

"Yeah, that's strange. Oh well, who cares? His family could use a little new blood; they've been marrying their cousins for years now." Sirius had said. They all laughed as if they had not a care in the world.

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The next morning, James woke up to someone shaking him awake. He did not know what time it was when he finally fell asleep, but he was almost positive that he hadn't been asleep for very long. He tried to open his eyes, but they seemed to be glued shut.

"If you don't get up you're going to be late for Potions class. I'm betting to guess that you'll get a detention from Professor Slughorn if you're late." He heard. He finally got his eyes to open, and noticed that it wasn't just anybody shaking him awake, it was Lily Evans, dressed and ready for class.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"You've got fifteen minutes until class starts. Forget a shower and take one during lunch."

"I can't skip lunch!"

"Shower later then, just get ready and go. I'm going to leave now so I'm not late." She said. James got up and ran upstairs. He noticed that everyone was gone. He grabbed his bag and jumped the stairs to the common room when he noticed that Sirius and Remus had gotten up for class without waking him up. _They're probably already down to class already. Why does Potions have to be in the dungeons? Or why does Gryffindor have to be on the seventh floor?_ James was thinking as he sprinted down the stairs. He didn't have any trouble with traffic, just tripping over steps and turns. He finally made it into the Potions classroom, and not two seconds later, the bell rang. James sighed in relief and walk down the aisle and sat next to Lily, her being his Potions partner.

"By the way, I owe you nothing now." She whispered as Professor Slughorn entered the classroom. James gawked at how sneaky she could really be.

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Lily had woken up early again, regretting it almost immediately. She'd rather sleep in, but she didn't want to be smelly for class, so she jumped in the shower quickly. She got ready and went down to breakfast, seeing James, Sirius, and Remus all fast asleep on the couch by the fire. She debated waking them up, but she thought it would be funny to see them scramble to get ready. She walked down to the Great Hall where she found Julia sitting next to a strange girl eating and talking. Lily came up and sat down next to her.

"Hi Lily! This is my older sister, Maddie." Maddie smiled at her and said hello. "She's a fourth year." _This could come in handy_. Lily thought as her mind wandered away…

She finished her breakfast and told Julia she'd meet her in Potions; she had left her bag upstairs. Julia had hers with her, so she didn't have to go back upstairs. Lily hustled up the stairs to the seventh floor, said the password to get into the common room, up more stairs to her dormitory, and then back down stairs to hurry to Potions. On her way out, she noticed James still sleeping on the couch. Sirius and Remus had woken up and forgotten to wake James. She would have left him, but she remembered that she owed him one. She went over to him and shook him awake. He rushed upstairs and back down in ten seconds flat. By time he came back, she had already left though. When the bell rang, James had been in the classroom only seconds before. He sat down when Lily told him that she no longer owed him anything anymore. She felt extremely smug. She had outsmarted James Potter.

Potions had gone by smoothly. They were supposed to concoct a cure for a paper-cut. Lily had glanced at the directions on the board once and got to work on her potion. She was the first one finished and it was perfect. James on the other hand, was having some trouble. His potion had turned hot pink, when it was supposed to turn lime green. Unfortunately, Professor Slughorn had been walking by at that moment.

"Oh, Potter, you seemed to have mixed rat tails instead of bat wings." Professor Slughorn said.

"Well, I was having trouble reading the label. It got smudged, see. I couldn't tell if this was bat or rat." He lifted up his bottle of rat tails and showed Professor Slughorn.

"Well, I suggest you put a new label on then." He said and cleared his cauldron with a flick of his wand and walked away. Lily tried hard to stifle her laughs, but a little came out and James threw her a dirty look. Lily laughed harder. _Oh, this is war._ She thought. She knew James was thinking the same thing. This was going to be an interesting year.

After Potions was Transfiguration. This was a bit more complicated. Lily was having trouble with the incantations and the wand movements at the same time. She couldn't think of them both at the same time. James seemed to be having more luck than Lily and gave her the smug little look that she gave him before. So she was talented in Potions and James was talented in Transfiguration. Everyone was different. But it was still a competition, and Lily was going to win.

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During lunch, she was finally at peace. James was upstairs taking a shower instead of eating lunch. She didn't think he would actually do it, but he did. She ate a little and then went straight to Charms. During Charms, she was doing great; good wand movements, good incantations. She was outstanding. James was doing, exceptional. Lily was winning this battle. And then came Defense Against the Dark Arts. Lily walked towards the door, once she entered the room, she couldn't come to her desk. It was the same desk that she had been attacked by Lucius. She was just standing in the doorway. When James walked in, he pushed her forward closer to the desk. She refused to, but when she turned around and saw Lucius approaching, she rushed to the desk.

"Hey mudblood, keeping your cool?" Lucius asked. She was sweating she was so nervous. She sat down and was silent until class actually started. They had started with simple spells and Lily was mastering them with good results. Her pillow was doing what it was supposed to, but when she looked at James, he was doing amazing. He was undoubtedly going to do something dealing with the Dark Arts when he grew up. Lily could just tell. Now they were even in their battle over who was better. It was an unspoken battle, but a battle nonetheless. Then Lily remembered, they still had Astronomy later that night. She'd beat him at that for sure.

She was walking back to the Gryffindor common room with Julia when she realized for the first time that day, that Megan wasn't with them, and hadn't been with them all day.

"What happened to Megan? I haven't seen her all day."

"She wanted to sleep." Julia told her.

"On the second day of school?"

"Yeah, I know, she's probably going to fail her first year. I can already tell. How was your day, I feel like I've barely talked to you today."

"Well, it was alright, but you have to realize, I rarely talk at all."

"But even still, we usually talk more than this usually." Lily shrugged. Sure they usually talked during the day, but Lily didn't talk much ever. She was just a naturally shy person. She couldn't do anything about how she was. After she got to know a person better, that's when she would become a more outgoing person. No one had ever told her to her face that she should talk more, but she knew that she should. They had come to the portrait of the fat lady. They said the password and entered the common room. Lily wanted to sleep, but she needed to do her homework for Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration. She sat down by the fire and got to work. Julia had gone upstairs when they entered the common room, so Lily was all alone. A little while later, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter came into the common room causing a ruckus. Peter and Remus ascended the stairs for bed while Sirius and James decided to stay and keep bothering Lily.

"Do you really think this is a smart choice?" Lily asked.

"What?" James asked her.

"Staying up all night doing absolutely nothing, and falling asleep on the couch and almost missing your first class and missing lunch so you can shower?" Lily replied.

"Yeah, we have fun." James told her.

"Do you think it's fun to wake up with five minutes to get down to the dungeons from the astronomy tower, because your best friend decided it would be funny to leave you sleeping?" She asked while looking at Sirius.

"It was pretty funny." Sirius said.

"Not really; not for me." James said. Lily sighed loudly and looked back to her homework. When she finished she ran up the stairs to go to bed. James and Sirius really needed to get over themselves. They weren't funny, even if they thought they were. She crawled into bed listening to the sound of the other girls' breathing. She fell asleep almost instantly; she was extremely tired.

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"Why **did** you leave me to wake up on my own this morning?" James asked.

"Well, I thought it would be funny. I mean, it's just something that I would do." Sirius told him.

"I was almost late for class; I could have gotten detention!" James said; raising his voice.

"What's wrong with detention? A little trouble never hurt anyone!"

"It could hurt my school record. What if I wanted to get a job after school?"

"Jobs are overrated. So is school. Just give up now." Sirius said.

"If school's such a waste, why did you come?"

"Because, it wasn't because my parents wanted me to. I do everything in my power to disobey them, but there was just something telling me to go."

James was thinking. This kid tried everything in his power to **not** follow the rules. He was sure that Sirius's parents wanted him to go to school, but if he didn't want to do what his parents wanted, why would he go to school? It didn't make sense. Maybe James would learn in time about Sirius's odd ways. He was also thinking; why did Lily hate them so? What had they ever done to her, **really**? I mean, sure there was the whole bug in the hair incident, but that was it. She couldn't hate him forever because of one small incident that wasn't even real. Maybe she'd warm up to him after awhile.

James and Sirius started playing wizard's chess because they both thought that they would beat the other because they were both the best around. After Sirius won, James flopped on the couch and started drifting off into a sleep. He soon realized that he'd want to go to his room and sleep, or he'd be late again tomorrow. Sirius had already fallen asleep and was snoring quite loudly. _Let's see him struggle to class tomorrow morning._ James thought as he climbed the stairs to the boy's dormitories. He went in the bathroom and changed and brushed his teeth. He ran into his room and fell asleep.

The alarm went off for James to wake up. He turned over onto his other side and slammed his hand down onto the snooze button. He crawled out of bed and changed his clothes. He made his way quietly downstairs and then realized he left his bag up in his room. He went back up and got it, and then came back down into the common room once again. Sirius was still fast asleep on the couch. James smirked at himself and went back down to the Great Hall for breakfast. The minute he looked up and down the Gryffindor table for someone to sit with. Remus, Peter, Lily…anyone. He saw Lily sitting with her friends Julia and Megan. He sat down next to Lily, who looked greatly disgusted.

"Hello, Ms. Lily. Look at me all on time. Sirius fell asleep on the couch last night. I'm going to leave him like he left me. He deserves it." James told her.

"You can't do that! That's so mean, just because he did it to you doesn't mean you should do it to him. Two wrongs don't make a right." Lily told him. She made him feel so guilty. He decided he'd go back upstairs and wake Sirius up before class. Besides, it gave him time to be alone with Lily because she had to go upstairs and get her bag with her stuff for Defense Against the Dark Arts. They went upstairs and got Lily's bag and woke Sirius. He casually made his way upstairs and down the hall, he didn't seem to care whether he was late or not. James and Lily were hurrying towards the third floor to be on time. They always cut it really close, every day.

The rest of the day went by fast. They didn't do much new stuff. They just didn't do anything new. Strange? James was ready to finish the week. He wanted some free time to hang out with Sirius, Remus, and Peter. The four of them would have a lot of fun. They spent a lot of time planning things to do, but hadn't found a way to balance school and doing the stuff they wanted to do, so they stuck with schoolwork until they found a way to balance it out.

After class, James, Sirius, and Remus had gone up to the boy's dormitory and played exploding snap in the privacy of their own room. Peter was in the library, studying. All of a sudden, they heard a knock on the door. What boy knocks before they enter? James had already won a game of exploding snap against Remus and was getting ready to play against Sirius. He decided to change into something more comfortable before playing, which was a mistake because he walked to see who was at the door. He opened it, in his boxers to come face to face with Lily Evans. He felt really embarrassed, but stood there like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"You left your book in Transfiguration." She said, trying not to look at him. She felt really awkward him being almost naked and all.

"Oh, thanks." He said and took the book from her. She started to walk away, so he shut the door. Sirius and Remus started cracking up.

"Do you think she liked the stripes?" Sirius said through fits of laughter.

"How did she even get up here? Don't they have rules against that kind of thing?" Remus asked wiping tears from his eyes.

"That's actually a good thing to know…" Sirius said, all his laughter gone.

"SIRIUS!!" Remus and James said and gave him this outraged look.

"What? Not right now, I'm only eleven, but maybe someday I will. I'm not like Lucius okay?" Sirius said and they all started laughing again about James and his boxers.

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Lily turned to walk away after handing James his Transfiguration book, and made her way down the stairs to the common room. As if it wasn't awkward enough having James as her partner for every class, she had to walk into his room while he was getting dressed. Of course he didn't care, but she did. Why would she have wanted to see him in his underwear? She had made it into the common room and saw Megan and Julia sitting on the floor doing their Charms homework. They looked up when they heard Lily approaching.

"Why does your face look like you've just seen a ghost?" Julia asked.

"Well, I went to give James his book back, and, well, he wasn't exactly dressed."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE WASN'T EXACTLY DRESSED?!" Megan whisper yelled, very interested.

"Well, how many things **can** it mean?"

"Well, it can mean he was butt naked, or he was wearing something."

"He came to the door in his underwear, okay? Do you need anymore detail?"

"What did they look like?"

"Striped okay? Enough with the stupid questions!" Lily said, not wanting to talk about James and his underwear anymore.

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**Haha so I hoped you liked it. Questions? Comments? Review. **


	3. 1: Getting Ready

**Ok so I really need you guys to review. Really badly. I love it that you guys read my story, but I'd love it even more if you'd review it! I'll dedicate my next chapter to you if you review. Please? kthx**

**Year One**

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_**Chapter 3**_

September passed quickly enough. The weather had started chilling and the leaves on the trees started falling. Lily looked out of the window through her dormitory one morning. The sun was not all the way up yet. She looked at the beech tree out by the lake. She saw the Giant Squid come up to the surface for a second before disappearing again under the black lake. The beech trees' leaves had only a few leaves left. The branches were blowing to the East, due to the harsh wind that was taking place that October morning. Halloween was rapidly approaching and Lily was thinking of the perfect costume to wear to the Halloween ball. It had been a tradition at Hogwarts for twenty years, but Lily had no idea what she'd go as. The other girls in the room had started stirring.

"Lily, what are you doing up this early on a Saturday?" Julia asked. Lily didn't take her eyes away from the window.

"I couldn't sleep." Was all she said. She wasn't lying. She hadn't been able to sleep for quite sometime. She had no idea why she couldn't sleep either; she just had this feeling that something wasn't right. Something big was going to happen. She got dressed and made her way downstairs for an early breakfast. She sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table, which was seemingly empty. There were only a few students in the Great Hall at any of the tables. The Slytherin table was completely empty. Lily had grabbed some toast and spread some jam on it. She also ate some eggs and a sausage. She went back up the stairs and into the common room. She grabbed some parchment and started writing some ideas for her costume. The ball wasn't until next Friday. She had six days to get an outfit. Soon people started leaving their dormitories and heading for breakfast. About half of them came back with nothing to do today. Julia and Megan came back to see what Lily had been up to.

"Just thinking of what to wear for the Halloween ball." Lily said.

"That's easy." Megan said. "Just don't go. I'm not."

"What? You have to go, it's tradition!" Julia said.

"Well I'm not, and there's nothing you can do to make me go."

"Even if someone asked you?" Julia asked her, concerned.

"Nope."

"Fine, anyway, I'm going as Cleopatra, I know it's kind of lame, but I didn't know what to go as either. Hmm, I'll help you come up with something." Julia had offered. They sat for two hours debating ideas when they finally narrowed it down to an angel, a princess, or a masquerade woman.

"Where am I going to get a costume though?" Lily asked before deciding.

"Well there's always Hogsmead." Megan said.

"But first years aren't allowed to visit Hogsmead!" Julia said.

"What's Hogsmead?" Lily asked, completely clueless.

"It's the village outside Hogwarts. Shops, homes, you name it, it's there." Megan replied.

"Well how am I supposed to get a costume from Hogsmead if first years aren't allowed to visit it?" Lily asked them.

"My sister could go!" Julia said. "She could go and pick up a costume for you! She has good taste!"

"Well, alright, but first I should probably pick which one first." Lily told them.

"I think you should go with the whole masquerade thing. Very mysterious. And who knows, maybe you'll meet a cute boy who will be obsessed with finding out who you are or something!" Julia said. Lily looked at Megan, expecting an opinion from her.

"What? I don't care, I'm not going remember?"

"Okay, I'll go as a masquerade. Can you tell your sister to pick up a cute dress and a mask and bring it in a box so no one will see it?" Lily asked.

"Sure, the next trip is tomorrow I believe, she could get it then." Julia told her and rushed down to the Great Hall to ask Maddie if she would pick it up.

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James woke up the same Saturday afternoon, and looked out the window. He wasn't the first to wake, but he wasn't the last to wake either. He looked out the window to see the same things that Lily saw. The beech tree with hardly any leaves on it, the black lake and the Giant Squid's tentacles thrashing about. He noticed the wind was quite harsh that day, as he could see the branches and leaves (or what was left) blowing in the wind. He turned away from the cloudy day outside the window and opened his trunk to take some clothes out of it. He got dressed and went to the stairs that led to the common room, just as every other morning. He entered the common room to see only three people in it at the time; Lily and her two friends, Julia and Megan. They were huddled over a piece of parchment, discussing something; not noticing anyone had entered the room. He tried to get a glimpse of the parchment, but couldn't. He went through the common room and down to breakfast, well lunch. By time he came back, Julia had left them, but Lily and Megan seemed to still be discussing something that looked important to them. He strode up to them, wanting to strike up a conversation with the girl that despised him with all her being.

"Hello Lily, what are you doing this fine day?" James had snuck up on her and asked. She scrambled to hide her parchment.

"Um, nothing, nothing at all." She seemed slightly awkward around James. That wasn't like her. She was usually a shy person, but not around James. She seemed to speak her mind to James.

"What's on that paper?" James asked.

"Nothing." Lily said, but James didn't believe her.

"What does the paper really say?"

"Why do you care so much?" Lily asked and then ran upstairs. James was really confused. He went back downstairs looking for Sirius and found him eating lunch.

"Just get up?" James asked Sirius.

"Yeah, hey I have a question for you."

"Ask away my good friend."

"Did you ask anyone to the ball yet?" Sirius asked. James did not know that there was a ball coming up. He gave Sirius a look that looked like he was questioning Sirius's sanity.

"What ball?" James finally asked.

"The Halloween Ball next Friday. I guess you haven't asked anyone then. What are you going to go as?"

"Well, I'll probably just go as a swordsman or something. Have you asked anyone yet? What are you going to go as?"

"No I haven't asked anyone, thinking about asking Megan, you know Lily's friend? I'll probably go as…I'm not sure. I'll think about it. Who are you going to ask?"

"Well, I probably won't ask anyone."

"Oh, well, good luck with that. I'm going back upstairs and play some Exploding Snap with Remus."

"I'll go with you." James chipped in. They climbed the stairs again to play some Exploding Snap.

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Maddie came back from Hogsmead the next afternoon with a big box. She went through the Entrance Hall and up the stairs leading up to the seventh floor. She walked through the seventh floor to the portrait of a Fat Lady. She spoke the word, "Flobberworm Mucous" and the portrait swung open. She entered the Gryffindor common room, decked in red and gold and looked for her sister's familiar face. She went up to the girl's dormitory and into the first year's dormitory. Sitting in there were her sister, and her two best friends.

"Here's the dress and the mask." Maddie said.

"They match, right?" Megan said before Julia opened the box.

"Of course they match!" Julia opened the box to see that they did indeed match. Lily was sitting on her bed, trying to see the dress from where she was sitting, but too afraid to see in case she didn't like it. Megan had leaned over the box with Julia to see what it looked like, when she looked back at the door to see Maddie still standing in the doorway.

"You can go now, we've got it from here." Megan said. Maddie gave a disgusted look and turned to leave. Lily could hear that she muttered something that sounded something like: "First years!"

"Oh, my, goodness! It's gorgeous!" Julia said.

"Lily, I think you're going to love it." Megan said. Lily was certain Megan wouldn't have an opinion on it because she didn't like dresses. She was too tomboy to like dresses. Lily and Julia once had a discussion that one day, she'd grow out of her tomboy qualities and come running to them for help.

Julia ran to the door, shut it, and magically locked it so no one could see the beautiful dress. She came back to the box and pulled the dress out so Lily could see it. It was yellow with a dark orange sash around the waist. It went all the way to the floor, and had spaghetti straps (she **was** only eleven). Along the top was a flowery pattern and on the skirt half was a transparent over skirt that had little flowers on it. It was so pretty. The dark orange sash was transparent and tied around the waist and puffed in the back and stretched almost to the floor. Megan pulled out the mask which was a gold mask that would have only covered her eyes and nose. There was dark gold glittering all around the mask in little swirls. Lily was speechless. At her age, any dress that wasn't a sundress was beautiful to her though.

"Do you like it?" Julia asked, frantic. She couldn't tell if Lily was silent because she loved it or silent because she hated it.

"It's amazing!" Lily finally said. She ran over to it and tried it on. It fit just right. "But what am I going to do with my hair?"

"We'll figure something out." Julia told her.

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James and Sirius sitting in front of the fire, discussing what to do, because they were bored. Sirius was saying that he was thinking about asking someone to the ball that very day. They noticed the portrait hole opening and an older girl came in with a slightly large box. She looked familiar, who did she remind them of? She looked around the common room, apparently unsatisfied, and climbed the stairs to the girl's dormitory.

"Who was that?" James had asked Sirius.

"I think it was Julia's older sister. They look a lot alike, huh?" Sirius said while throwing a piece of parchment into the fire.

"What do you think was in that box she was carrying?" James asked. He really wanted to know why everyone was keeping secrets from him lately. He ran over to the girl's dormitories to follow Julia's sister and see what was in the box. He made it halfway up the stairs when they melted together and formed into a slide. James slid back down and tried running up the slide. Sirius laughed.

"Good try mate, but I think there's a charm on that staircase."

"No kidding."

"Why did you want to go up there all of a sudden anyway?"

"Well, it seems everyone is trying to keep secrets from me lately. Yesterday, Lily, Megan, and Julia all were keeping something on a piece of paper from me, and now that box looked very suspicious. Why did Julia's sister need to keep it in a box?" James wondered aloud.

"Why do you care what's in that box? It's nothing for you."

"You don't know that!" James retorted.

"There's a 98 percent chance that it's not for you." Sirius said, still throwing things into the fire. Suddenly, the two boys could hear screams coming from upstairs. They were undoubtedly the girls that had received whatever was in that box.

"I'm bored, lets do something fun." James told Sirius. He really just wanted to get his mind off of that box. At that moment Julia, Megan, and Lily all came sliding down the slide that once was the staircase with the box that Julia's sister had taken up there.

"Who tried going up the stairs?" Julia asked.

"James." Sirius said, ratting out James immediately without looking up.

"Why?" Megan asked, curiously.

"Because I heard screams and thought someone was in trouble, thank you very much!" James replied back, insulted.

"Whatever." Megan said and they ran out of the portrait hole and out of sight. Where they were going, was unknown to James and Sirius.

"I told you it had something to do with me!" James said when he believed the girls were out of earshot.

"You have no idea if it has anything to do with you." Sirius said, starting to laugh.

"Okay, yesterday, I walked into the room and there was something on this piece of parchment that those girls had. I asked what was on the paper and they ran away and wouldn't let me see. Now, those same girls are getting mysterious boxes from Julia's older sister, which are undoubtedly from Hogsmead. What's in Hogsmead that those girls would need that they didn't want me to know about?"

"What if it's not for you, they just didn't want you to know about it because you'd spill the beans? I think you're overanalyzing things way too much." Sirius said.

"I don't spill the beans! People can trust me!"

"Then why are they hiding something from you!?" Sirius asked, not seeing why they were having this conversation.

"I DON'T KNOW!!"

"Then why are we talking? Let's follow them!"

"We're too far behind them now!"

"But we can try! Let's go!" The two boys got up and out of the portrait hole. There was no sign of where the girls had been or were going. Sirius held up his forefinger to his lips to signal him saying: "Shh!" They knew that they were heading for the stairs, so that's where they started. If they were quite enough, they could maybe hear the girls' giggling. Sure enough, they could hear it just down the hall. They turned down the hallway with the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy, where the girls were undoubtedly heard, but when they looked. They saw no one, and heard no one.

"I could've sword I heard them come down this hallway!" Sirius whispered.

"I heard them down here too! Where could they have gone?!" James whispered. The two boys snuck back down to the Gryffindor common room.

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The three girls had slid down the stairs; obviously some boy was trying to get up into the girl's dormitory for some reason. They didn't really care; they just wanted to be alone. A few of the other girls that lived in that dormitory with them had shown up looking for privacy, so the other three left for some privacy of their own. The reached the bottom of the slide to find James and Sirius to be the only people in the common room. It was strange for five o'clock in the afternoon. Sirius was lying right in front of the fire, propped up with a few pillows from the couches on his back. James was sitting on the back of the couch and falling backwards, so his head was on the cushions and his feet were in the air. They looked really bored. The girls had reached the bottom, almost loosing the box with the dress in it.

"Who tried going up the stairs?" Julia asked.

"James." Sirius said, ratting out James immediately without looking up.

"Why?" Megan asked, curiously.

"Because I heard screams and thought someone was in trouble, thank you very much!" James replied back, insulted.

"Whatever." Megan said and they ran out of the portrait hole and out of sight. They didn't want to run, because they had to remember where exactly it was that they were going. Maddie had told them about a secret room on the seventh floor that was called 'the Room of Requirement'. Whatever you needed, it would be in there. They had to go slow to remember the directions that Maddie had given, and to find where it was. They were giggling the whole way, so excited to finally have some peace and quiet. They reached the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy. Behind that portrait was supposed to be this sacred room.

"Okay, so we just need to walk by it three times thinking of exactly what we want in the room or something." Julia said.

"We need some boys!" Megan said. They all laughed the hardest they had all night.

"Shh! Did you hear that?" Julia said.

"What?" The other two girls had said.

"I heard someone, what if someone's trying to follow us?"

"Then let's hurry!" Lily said. They three girls walked by as quickly as possible; thinking about what they wanted in the room. Suddenly, a door handle appeared and the three girls jumped into the portrait just in time. The two boys had just looked down the hall two seconds after they jumped into the room.

The room looked just as the dormitory did. There was three beds, a dresser, a mirror, and posters of cute Quidditch players, everything three teenage girls would want in a dormitory at school. The girls took the dress out of the box once again and Lily put the dress back on. Julia ran over to the dresser and opened it up to find it empty. She shut the drawer, whispered something under her breath, and reopened the same drawer. She pulled out the dress that she was going to wear to the ball. They both put their dresses on. Lily put the mask on and Julia got out her 'magic wand'. She was going as a fairy princess. Megan looked at them and told them exactly how she felt and how they looked.

"You guys look amazing. I'd somewhat like to go now, but I have nothing to wear."

"I bet this room could come up with something!" Julia put in. She opened a drawer and pulled out this extravagant dress. It was short and black. That was all that was to it.

"I love it! But I'm still not going with someone if anyone asks. I wouldn't know what to do and my whole time would be ruined." They were all wearing their dresses, and had asked for more mirrors so they could look at themselves more efficiently. "Now we just have to worry about our hair." The girls groaned. But there was always magic. They took off their dresses, put them into boxes, and went back into the Gryffindor common room. They were still gigging then, and noticed that James and Sirius were still in the common room doing nothing. Remus now joined them though, and seemed to be trying to tell them something, but dropped dead silent when the girls entered.

"What are you guys doing?" Julia asked?

"Nothing, why do you have two more boxes than when you left?"

"None of your business!" Lily said protectively.

"Hey Megan! Can I talk to you for a minute?" Sirius had asked. Why had he wanted to talk to Megan?

Julia and Lily went upstairs and started getting ready for bed. They had classes tomorrow and didn't want to fall asleep during class. Megan came back upstairs about five minutes later.

"What did Sirius want?" Lily asked very curious. She had no idea why Sirius would want to talk to Megan, she was always mean to people.

"He wanted to ask me to the ball."

"Oh my gosh! What did you say?!" Julia said, sitting down. She couldn't stand from all the excitement.

"I said no of course! I told you that I wasn't going with anyone. I want it to be the perfect night, and I'd rather spend it with my friends than some boy. Besides, this dance will come up more than once. It's not going to be my last one." Megan told her.

The next morning, the three girls had gone down for breakfast. Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus had gone down early for breakfast as well. Julia and Sirius sat on the end. There was a long conversation during breakfast, and then they all went to History of Magic. After that they had Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and later that evening, Astronomy. The girls had started walking away from the boys, they had girly things to discuss.

"Guess who asked me to the ball!?" Julia said walking to History of Magic.

"Sirius?" Megan asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Because he was turned down by me, and he's not going to go to the ball alone. Plus, you were sitting on the same end of the table." Megan told her.

"Did you say yes?" Lily asked her.

"Of course. He was so sweet about it."

"Have fun." Lily said. She was still going alone. She was okay with it though, like Megan said, there would be other dances.

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After their classes were over (except Astronomy), the girls were up in their dormitory picking out hairstyles. Lily decided on wearing hers down with loose curls. Julia was curling hers and putting it up into a twist with a sparkling headband. Megan had decided wearing it down it loose curls with some sparkling barrettes and a tiara. She was going as a princess. They redid their hair back to what they normally wore it, and got ready for Astronomy. They were really excited for the upcoming ball.

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**I hope you liked it. I'm excited for the ball. How about you? Well I thought you guys would like to see what the dresses and hairstyles looked like. So if you want the links with them on it, etll me in a review, and i'll be sure to tell you. it wont let me put them on here for some reason. **

REVIEW:)


	4. 1: Halloween Ball and some Quiddtich

**Hmm…good? I hope so. This is alllllll about the Halloween Ball!! Yes I know you're all excited. So I'm happy with the hits, but there's not many reviews. I'd really appreciate reviews even if you've reviewed already. Please???? alright. So the ball….here we come. **

**Year One**

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_**Chapter 4**_

Friday morning came and Lily awoke with a start. There wasn't a noise, but for some reason, she felt the need to wake up, but she woke up with such force, she thought something had woken her up instead. She rubbed her eyes and pulled back the curtains of her four poster bed and crawled out. She went over to the window to see if the sun had started rising yet. She pulled back the curtains to the window and sure enough, the sun had started rising. She ran to her dresser and picked out her uniform for school and jumped in the shower. After her shower she grabbed her bag, which had all of her stuff for Herbology in it, and ran down for a quick breakfast. When she got there, she saw James and Sirius sitting with Julia. Julia seemed to be blushing. Lily ran over there and sat down, shoved a piece of toast into her mouth, and rushed with the other three out to the Greenhouses.

"Today, we will be potting Man-Eating Dandelions." Professor Sprout had said. The children looked startled.

"Professor, they don't **really** eat men, do they?" Asked a frightened Hufflepuff.

"No, no, no Jonathan. They are much too small to eat a man. But they do bite. So watch out and put on your gloves."

The first year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had started potting the Man-Eating Dandelions, which took up the whole class period. Lily, Megan, and Julia were discussing the dance while trying to pot their Dandelions. The three of them were extremely excited. They left the Greenhouse trailing Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter back to the castle. Their next class was Charms.

The rest of the day passed rather slowly. In Charms, they practiced their Levitating Spells. Lily had been doing wonderful. She also took into consideration that it was partially because her wand was practically **made** for Charms. After Charms they went to lunch and the girls had an even bigger conversation about the ball. They then went to Defense Against the Dark Arts, where they learned the knock-back jinx: Flipendo. Lily was struggling a little with the jinx, but that was because she wasn't too good at Defense Against the Dark Arts. James seemed to be a master at it. He got it rather quickly. After they had exited the third floor, they made their way to the Dungeons. Potions was their final class of the day. Lily was rather happy it was Potions, she was good at Potions. She liked Potions.

They started out with making a more complicated potion than they had in a while. A sleeping potion. Everyone had a Potions partner to be working with. Of course James and Sirius were together, they were inseparable. Megan and Julia were together. Remus and Lily had partnered with each other, which left Peter to be partnered with Frank Longbottom. They were the worst two of the class at Potions.

Lily and Remus were the first two done with their potion. They put it up at Professor Slughorn's desk.

"Finished already?" Professor Slughorn asked.

"Yes." Lily replied.

"How is it? Everyone else is only at least half finished." He said, curiously looking at Lily. She felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"I don't know; I just always finish before anyone else." She came up with, lamely. She couldn't come up with a real reason to why they were done so early.

"Yes, I've noticed that. And you always do top notch work. You never talk back. You're a great student. I think you should've been in Slytherin, no doubt about that." Professor Slughorn finished. Lily did not like hearing that. She was put in Gryffindor because that was her destiny. She was brave at heart and a good student. She wasn't some slimy pureblood who would only try to save her own neck. She thought she'd tell him exactly what she thought, whether he was the Head of Slytherin or not.

"Yes, well, I think that being in Slytherin would be an insult to me, no offense Professor. All of the kids in Slytherin are all the same. All they care about is their bloodline and how they're superior to everyone else. If they do something to get them in trouble with some friends, all they care about is saving their own skin. It doesn't matter if their friends get in trouble along the way, as long as they get out okay. To be completely honest, I'm thankful **not** to be in Slytherin. The Sorting Hat chose me to be in Gryffindor, because he thought I was brave at heart. Not cunning and cruel." Lily said. Professor Slughorn eyed her with concern and then chuckled a little.

"Ah, yes, spoken like a true Gryffindor. I can see that you obviously should be in Gryffindor. My mistake." Lily walked back to her seat next to Remus, who was cleaning up their mess from the potion. Lily sat down and looked at Julia and Megan's cauldron, which was too dark of a shade of purple than it should have been. She swept her eyes over to James and Sirius's cauldron, which was a shade of royal blue. They seemed to know something was a bit off because they were scrambling around looking for something to do to fix it. She looked over at Peter and Frank's cauldron which was a nasty shade of orange. They were trying to be calm and fix it, but nothing seemed to be working. They might as well just given up hope because there was nothing to do about their potion.

When class finally ended, Lily, Megan, and Julia had walked up the Dungeon steps to the Gryffindor common room. James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter had caught up with the girls. They seemed to be just as excited for the ball as the girls were.

"Are you guys ready for the most amazing night of your life?" Sirius asked them. The girls responded as if it were nothing. They didn't want to seem over excited about it. They also didn't want to give away their costumes until they had reached the Great Hall that evening. So they responded:

"It's not like there's not going to be other Halloween Balls." Megan said.

"Whatever, you guys are lame." James said. They reached the Gryffindor common room and the seven of them sat in front of the fire finishing their homework before the dance started so they wouldn't have to worry about it over the weekend. They finally finished at six thirty, and ran downstairs for some dinner. The girls went up at seven to start getting ready for the ball, which started at nine.

"Why so early?" Remus asked.

"It takes girls a lot longer to get ready than boys." Julia said, as if it were obvious. And they sprinted to the stairwell. They ran up every step and through the portrait hole. Once they reached the common room though, they slowed to a walk to the girl's dormitory. They went up and pulled out their boxes that had their dresses in it, their wands to do their hair, and the make-up that Lily had brought. Her mother had given her old make-up that she didn't want anymore and Lily brought it with her just in case of emergencies. Now she was glad she did.

The girls started with their hair. They all started by magically curling their hair. Megan put in her barrettes, while Julia had started piling it onto her head with her sparkling headband. As they had started on their hair, the other girls who shared the room had come in as well. They had started getting ready for the dance and started with their hair as well.

Next they started on the make-up. Before they did though, one of the girls knew of a spell that would hold the hair and make-up on without coming out or rubbing off. They each put the spell on their hair before putting on the make-up. They each put on their eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, foundation, blush, and lipstick. Lily made sure to accent her eyes because that's about all that would show with the mask on.

They started undressing so they could put their dresses on. Lily's yellow dress looked amazing on her. Not many people could pull off yellow. The sash on her waist matched her hair quite well. Julia, going as a fairy princess, had pulled on her slimming, pink dress. She pulled out a pretty, pretend wand and cute silver shoes. She put glitter on her face so that she shined in the light. Megan slid on her cute, short, black dress that puffed out at the bottom. She pulled on some black shoes that weren't that tall. Megan couldn't walk well in high heels. She grabbed her tiara and placed it onto her head. Each girl placed the spell on their face so the make-up would stay on all night. Lily put the finishing touches on her outfit and pulled the mask up to her face. She was barely recognizable.

**

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The boys headed up to their dormitory to start getting ready for the ball. Peter, James and Sirius had decided to go as the Three Musketeers. Remus said he didn't want to go.

"You have to go Remus! If you don't go, we won't have any fun!" Sirius said.

"Yes you will, you will have plenty of fun. And how many times have you said to everyone else that there will be other dances and balls. I'll be fine. What time does the ball start anyway?"

"Nine o'clock sharp buddy, in case you feel like showing up later." Sirius said with a smile. "But until then, you can help us get our costumes ready."

They each put on their charming outfits with their puffy necks and sleeves. They put on extremely tight pants, which they regretted immediately. They had also put on knee high tights that went up into the pants. They had buckled shoes, and a spot for a sword. They each grabbed a sword and put it in the holder. Since they were about ready, and had an hour still until the ball actually started, they decided to play Wizard's chess. It was Sirius against Peter, and Peter was losing badly. Remus didn't want to play. He was claiming he didn't feel to well, and was probably going to head to Madam Pomfrey soon. He told them he'd wait until they went to the ball before leaving. James was standing at the window, admiring the beauty of the night. The moon was shedding its silver light onto everything in sight, making it not so dark. The beech tree that was always blowing in the wind, was immobile. The Black Lake that usually had ripples from the Giant Squid, was smooth. James found this very odd. The lake looked like black glass it was so smooth. The moonlight was beautiful. He looked up and noticed that there was a full moon, that's why there was so much more light on everything than usual. But that still didn't explain the sudden stillness of the night.

_Isn't a full moon on Halloween supposed to be bad luck or some kind of bad omen?_ James thought.

"Hey James! Are you going to play or what?!" Sirius was shouting. James had been zoning out, so he couldn't hear Sirius yelling at him.

"Yeah." James said, trying to tear his eyes away from the glorious night. He came and sat down across from Sirius to play some Wizard's chess.

After awhile, the boys had decided to descend the stairs to the common room, and then down to the Great Hall. They didn't want to be late. Each of the boys had grabbed a big hat with a huge feather protruding from it. They each looked in the mirror one last time before making their way downstairs. The made it to the common room to find a few other boys standing around in costumes, waiting for someone to go down first. They all seemed pretty clueless and scared. James and Sirius looked at each other, and nodded, making their way to the Great Hall, being the first of the Gryffindors to enter the Great Hall.

"Some Gryffindors." Sirius muttered under his breath, but James heard him and stifled a laugh. Remus and Peter were walking out with them until they reached the fourth floor when Remus departed them for the Hospital Wing.

"Bye you guys!" Remus shouted, so his friends would hear him. They waved signaling they heard his goodbye, but couldn't yell over the other students. They reached the Entrance Hall, followed by a hundred other Gryffindors. They weren't yet allowed to go into the Great Hall yet, for that was where the ball was taking place. James looked around and saw a million boys, all dressed up in some way or another. There were hardly any girls down yet. This put James down a little. He was hoping to find a girl he would have a great interest in tonight. Since the boys were all wearing different costumes, you couldn't tell which house each boy was in, unless you knew which house they were in already.

"Poor Remus, he's going to miss out on **all** the fun." Sirius said and smiled. James smiled back and they both turned to look at Peter, who obviously had no idea what was going on. He looked frightened. What Peter didn't know yet, he was soon to be informed any moment.

* * *

The girls had noted that it was five after nine, and the ball had undoubtedly already started, but they didn't want to be on time, they wanted to be a little late so people would notice when they arrived. They waited another five minutes before descending the stairs very slowly. Little did they know, that when they got to the Gryffindor common room, there were about a hundred other Gryffindor girls waiting to go down to the ball as well. Obviously they had the same plans as the other girls. If they all went down together, no doubt they'd be noticed, especially if they were the ones leading the group…

"Come on girls, what are we waiting for?" Lily said, sounding extremely confident, which she never was. She was always shy and self conscious. Lily, Megan, and Julia had led the girls out of the common room and down the stairs into the Entrance Hall. The doors leading to the Great Hall were open and you could hear the music blaring through the doors. The girls walked up to the doors, feeling confident. They stood at the doors looking inside at a sad sight. There was the entire school population of boys, standing around, doing nothing. They weren't dancing, they were waiting for girls. There were some girls there, but most of them were either still waiting to come down, or behind Lily, Megan, and Julia. How upsetting. The attention was turned on the three girls almost immediately. The three girls led the other Gryffindor girls into the Hall and to the middle of the dance floor. They all started dancing. The boys had followed suit and went to the dance floor as well. Everyone was dancing, and no one noticed when the Slytherin girls decided to make an entrance. Everyone was too busy dancing with someone. The Slytherins were outraged. But again, no one noticed.

The first slow song came on, and everyone paired up. Lily and Megan went to stand aside, they didn't have dates, and therefore, they had no one to dance with. They had been dancing with each other the whole time. Lily was looking around at the few people who didn't have dates. First her eyes wandered over to Julia and Sirius who looked fairly happy. At first she didn't recognize Sirius. He had cleaned up well. He had long dark hair that fell gracefully in his face, but tonight, he had pulled it back into a ponytail so it would go better with his costume. His bangs still fell into his face though, so that was still recognizable. He was quite tall and muscular as well. All of the girls thought he was so handsome. Sure he was, but he was too…immature. Although, he was only eleven.

Her eyes swept around the side of the Hall to the people standing, waiting for the song to end. She saw Peter Pettigrew, the short, stumpy boy who somewhat resembled a rat. He had watery eyes and bucked teeth. He was standing alone, looking for James no doubt. He was always following around James and Sirius. He couldn't stand on his own two feet to save his life. It wasn't a surprise to Lily that he was alone. No one really liked Peter. Lily thought, maybe that's why James and Sirius hung out with Peter, to make him feel like he had real friends. It was still kind of sad though. Poor Peter.

She started looking around again. _Goodness this is a long song!_ Lily thought. The next person her eyes fell on was Severus Snape. It surprised Lily that he had even showed up to the ball. He was very antisocial, but then again, a lot of people thought that about Lily. Severus was never seen talking with anyone, whenever he **was **seen, it was practicing Defense Against the Dark Arts. He never spoke either, unless he was speaking an incantation. His greasy black hair had hung in his face like Sirius', only Severus didn't have bangs, and his parted so that of his face, all you could see was his big hook nose. Lily felt bad for him, probably more so than Peter. At least Peter had friends. Lily started making her way towards Severus when someone held her back. Megan had grabbed her arm, shaking her head.

"What are you doing? Don't go talking to Snape! Your reputation will go down immensely. Just don't. Please?" Megan begged her.

"Fine." Lily said, sighing. Finally the slow song ended and people were flooding the dance floor once again. Lily had noticed that Severus hadn't moved from him spot on the wall. Lily was betting to guess that Severus hadn't left his place on the wall all night.

* * *

After the slow song, Sirius had sought out James and Peter. The three of them had been planning this all night. Now was the time. Sirius had left the Great Hall, and out of sight. He was going to execute his end of the plan from a different spot that directly inside the Great Hall. Peter had gone over to the boy directing the spotlight, and handed him what looked like a few Sickles. The boy had abandoned his post at the spotlight, and Peter had taken over, shielding his face with his hat so no one could see him. James had positioned himself underneath the big balloon arch that covered the entire Hall. James had looked at Peter, who gave him a thumbs up. He looked up at the ceiling. It was dark and starry outside, but if you squinted really hard, you could see Sirius's maroon costume. He gave James a thumbs up as well. James gave Sirius a thumbs up back, signaling that he and Peter were ready. Sirius had tipped a bag that he had upside down. Inside was a bag of fake bats that flew around like real bats. Everyone looked up and saw them, thinking it was just another decoration of the dance, but then the bats were flying down lower than the dance committees' had. They were getting stuck in girls' hair and they were freaking out. One girl fell into the punch bowl. James had thrown a dart at the balloon arch and the balloons started popping one at a time. There also was a purple smoke emitting from it all of a sudden. Peter had put the spot light on the smoke so everyone's attention was on it. Everyone was running for the doors when Peter pulled a string nearby which had a fake skeleton fall down, blocking the exit from any student or teacher. Professor Dumbledore had started interfering now.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore said. The Hall of screaming kids was suddenly completely silent. No one would disobey Professor Dumbledore. "Everyone will move past the skeleton, and up to your common rooms. The Halloween Ball is officially over." There was a chorus of "Aww!"

Lily was happy to get out of there. She was terrified of bats and spiders. That was the worst part about Halloween. She wondered who would do such a thing to scare all the kids who were just trying to have a good time. She was having trouble getting to her common room. She had lost Megan and Julia, and she kept almost tripping on her heels. Everyone was packed tightly around her, she was feeling very self aware of everything. She tried really hard not to fall, but sure enough, someone had caught the end of her dress, causing her to trip and fall onto the floor. People had started moving around her, but no one would help her up. She was having difficulties. Suddenly a hand was stuck out for her grab. Someone was offering help. She looked at the hand and followed it up his arm, and to his face. It was an eleven year old trouble maker, who had the messiest black hair you've ever seen. She looked right into his clear blue eyes and got lost in them.

"Are you going to let me help you up or not?" James asked.

"Oh, yeah, right." Lily said and grabbed his hand. He had helped her up.

"Where are you going?" He asked. Did he not recognize who she was?

"Seventh floor, Gryffindor Tower." She replied a little confused.

"Really? Me too. I'll walk you up there." He offered. "I'm James by the way, James Potter."

"Yeah, I know." She said. How could he not recognize her? He had taunted her everyday of her life. They had a conversation all the way up the stairs, him helping her all the way. She wasn't acting like the shy Lily that she normally was. She was acting outgoing, as she had always wanted to. She was so stunned that he hadn't realized who she was yet.

"Do I know you? If you're in Gryffindor, I feel like I **should** know you. But you don't act like anyone I know." He said, trying to figure out who she was. If he didn't know, she wasn't going to tell him.

"We've met before. But now I must go to bed. Sorry. Maybe I'll talk to you sometime, James." She said and smiled before she walked away.

"Wait, I don't know your name!" He yelled after her, she pretended that she didn't hear him. She pulled off her mask as she ascended the stairs to her dormitory where she found all of the girls in their room sitting on their beds.

"Lily! We were wondering where you had gone!" Julia said, sounding genuinely worried.

"I fell a couple times. James had to help me up. He seemed to be really interested in me, but I found out it's because, he didn't know who I was. I was wearing my mask and he had no idea who I was." Lily said, laughing. She thought it was hilarious.

The girls had started taking off their costumes and put on their pajamas. Lily had gone into the bathroom and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She washed her face in the sink, washing all of the make-up off that she had been wearing to the dance. She made her way back into the dormitory and climbed into the bed. She pulled the curtains around her four-poster and fell asleep.

Lily woke up two hours later in a cold sweat. She had just had a bad dream about spiders and bats and she had finally woken up from it. She was sweating so bad she had pulled back the curtains of her bed and walked to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. When she came back, she took a look around the room at her roommates. They were all fast asleep she assumed. She couldn't see them because their curtains were pulled all the way up. Lily walked over to the window. The night was still. The beech tree was still, as was the Black Lake. She took a look over past the beech tree over where the path was to the Quidditch pitch. She could see Professor Flitwick walking away from a huge tree that she'd never seen before. It was immobile at the moment, but after a few seconds, it started moving. When a bird flew by, the tree would swat at it. It looked dangerous. Maybe it was just her imagination. Lily walked back to her bed and pulled the curtains around her bed for the second time that night. She fell asleep quickly.

* * *

"James, it was just some girl, get over it. It was probably some upperclassman and once she finds out that you're a first year, she's not going to want to talk to you again. You're never going to hear from her again. Just forget about her." Sirius was saying as they were getting undressed.

"Whatever, do you think Dumbledore knew it was us? Do you think we'll get in trouble?"

"Who knows, right now, I don't really care. I'm tired. Where's Remus?"

"I don't know, probably still in the Hospital Wing."

"Night guys!" Sirius said.

"Night." The room mumbled.

A few hours later, James woke up. There was a strange noise. James got out of bed and walked over to the window. He had looked at the still life outside that night, just as it had before he left for the dance. Everything was completely immobile. Everything except for the massive tree over near the path going to the Quidditch pitch. The tree was far enough away from the path where if it were to swing its branches all the way over, it wouldn't reach the path. The tree was swinging its braches ferociously. There was something beside the tree, trying to touch the trunk, but the tree was swinging its huge branches, not letting the 'thing' touch the trunk. He could not identify what the 'thing' was exactly. He wanted to find out, but thought by time he got there, it would be gone. It took a long time to get to the tallest tower to the grounds. And then there was maneuvering around the teachers and Prefects. James rubbed his eyes, looked one more time, and then crawled back into bed. It had been a long night and he needed some sleep. Perhaps the thing out there was what had awoken James. He wished he could go see what it was, but thought better of it. He fell asleep, trying to identify the 'thing'.

* * *

Everyone woke up late the next morning, seeing it was Saturday. It was also November. November signified a new Quidditch season. This excited James greatly. The rule was that no first years were allowed to make the Quidditch team, but James thought he could fool the Quidditch captain. The captain this year was unknown to James, but that didn't matter. That made it easier for James. If James and the captain didn't know each other, then the captain couldn't kick James out of try-outs from the start. James was a fairly good seeker. That would be the position he would try-out for. He couldn't throw very well, and didn't fancy having bludgers flying at his face every five seconds. James went down to breakfast and ate a lot. After breakfast James was going to make his way to the Quidditch pitch and start warming up his flying.

"Attention!" Professor McGonagall said from the High Table. The Hall went quiet, not as quiet as when Professor Dumbledore spoke, but quiet enough. "Professor Dumbledore and the other teachers investigated the goings-on of last night. It was not done by You-Know-Who's followers as some of you had worried. It was a prank done by none other than some of the students among you. We have no proof of who actually did it, although we have our suspicions. So since we cannot punish the people who did it, we have come to the conclusion that we cannot have a Halloween Ball anymore. It has been a Hogwarts tradition, but since it has been proven that we cannot handle such frivolity, we will suspend it."

There was a chorus of "That's not fair!" and such things as that. No body liked having the Halloween Ball taken away from them.

"It won't be the last dance, I can promise you that. Now, Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs are today, if you're trying out, be down there by no later than 10:30. Also, if you're on your way down to the Quidditch pitch, please watch out for our new tree. The Whomping Willow. If you get too close, it will badly injure you. If we have any injuries because of the tree, you will be given detention. That is all." She said and stepped away from the High Table. She went to tend to a Gryffindor who happened to need something. James was finishing his breakfast when Sirius came down in his pajamas. Hardly any students came down in their pajamas.

"You just missed McGonagall's speech. There's not going to be anymore Halloween Balls because of us." James told him. Sirius didn't seem to be listening very intently.

"Oh well, that's not the only ball they have I'm sure." Sirius said, not caring. "Have you seen Remus since last night when we left?"

"No, I haven't actually. I wonder where he is." Just then Remus walked into the Great Hall looking very ill. His face was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he'd been hidden from the sun for longer than needed. Or than he'd been up in the Hospital Wing vomiting for half the night. Thinking it was the latter; no one asked any questions about it. What ever it was, it was his own business. If he wanted to tell them, he would on his own time.

"How've you been buddy, we were just wondering where you've been."

"Hospital Wing, haven't felt well lately." Remus told them. There was no doubt that he was lying, he looked awful. "Why are you rushing breakfast? I'm surprised you're even up this early." He asked James.

"I'm trying out for the Quidditch team." James whispered to Remus. Remus was taking a drink of orange juice when James told him this and he spit it out at hearing the news.

"Are you insane?!" Remus whispered. "You will be in so much trouble if you get caught!"

"Shh! Keep it on the down low Remus!"

"I think it's bloody brilliant!" Sirius voiced his opinion.

"Well of course **you** think it's brilliant! You'd do the same thing if you had a broom!"

"Exactly."

"I had no idea of this and had absolutely nothing to do with it." Remus said as he walked back upstairs. Sirius and James walked back upstairs to grab his broom and walk back down to the Quidditch pitch. Sirius came down for support. They walked along the path leading into the pitch, and noticed the enormous tree that had been placed on the grounds. It looked mean. Why would the teachers put a tree like this in a school? That was beside the point at the moment, right now all James was focusing on was Quidditch try-outs.

Sirius had climbed the stands, watching James fly around the pitch, warming up. He was the only one out there at the time. Eventually other students had joined him on the pitch and others joined Sirius in the stands. There were about thirty five kids there, and seven spots. Well, six because the captains spot was taken by the captain. The captain was a beater. There was a beater position, three chasers, a keeper, and the seeker position left. There was no doubt in James' mind that the captain would take all the students that were on the team last year. James didn't know how many were on the team last year, so this didn't help his chances.

"Okay, everyone do a warm-up lap around the pitch, and then group up with your year. I'll have second years over here, third years here, fourth years here, fifth years here, sixth years here, and seventh years over here. Go." As James did his warm-up lap, he was thinking where to go. If he joined any of the groups, he'd rat them out, but he couldn't join his own group, or he'd be thrown out immediately.

"Hey, aren't you a first year?" Someone said to James as they were flying. It was a boy who looked not much older than him who had flaming red hair.

"Yeah,"

"I'm a second year, Arthur Weasley. I'm very nervous. But I thought first years weren't allowed to try-out?"

"They aren't." James said.

"Oh, I see, well if you want to join the second year group, go ahead, I won't tell. I think it'd be brilliant if you made it." Arthur said, his blue eyes glowing. He seemed a real friendly person. James liked him immediately. James joined the second years; there was only Arthur and another girl, also with flaming red hair. He was going to ask if they were brother and sister, but she spoke first.

"Hi, I'm Molly Cobbles. Second year. You're a first year, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, but don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry, I won't." Obviously they weren't brother and sister, but possibly related. James didn't want to get into it right now. He had more important things to focus on.

The try-outs seemed to fly by quickly. James thought he hadn't quite performed to his top standards. There were only two other people trying out for the seeker position, and the other two weren't nearly as good as James. The captain had picked his other beater, keeper, and three chasers. Arthur had become the other beater, but Molly hadn't gotten the spot of a chaser unfortunately. He felt truly bad for her, but happy for Arthur. They made him grateful. He'd be sure to voice his opinions to them after try-outs were over. The captain had seeker left, and seemed to be taking his time with it.

"James Potter, I would really love having you on the team," the captain said. James heart soared. "But you're a first year. I can't have you on the team. If I was going to be captain next year, I would definitely pick you, but seeing as how I'm a seventh year this year, I can't. You did some good sneaking around, but I knew you were a first year when I saw you practicing before there was anyone even here. So, I've decided to take Jimmy." Jimmy did a victory lap. He was so excited. James felt really bad now. He floated to the ground to walk back with Sirius, but was stopped by Arthur and Molly.

"I think you flew impeccably." Arthur said.

"Thanks and congratulations Arthur. I'm sorry Molly. I thought you both flew amazing today."

"Thank you." They both said and made their way up to the castle in front of James and Sirius.

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**So that was amazing. Not gonna lie. I loved it. I love this story. It took me like two days to write this. Yay I'm excited. How about you review now please??? I love reviews and I only have two. Thanks a bundle to those two who did review. you're my saviors. : ))))))**


	5. 1: Full Moon

**So how's everyboday doooing? Hope you're all well. I've been alright I suppose. So I wont keep you waiting as long as you review. please? like the faces? It has also been brought to my attention that Molly's last name needs changing. So from now on it will be Molly Prewitt thanks a bundle BellaDevil and I know he had hazel eyes, but I don't like them as much as his misty blue eyes. Sorry!**

**Year One**

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_**Chapter 5**_

Throughout the rest of the first day of November, kids had been going in and out of the castle. Everyone was trying to get a look at the brand new tree that had been placed on the route towards the Quidditch pitch. If a teacher had asked, the kids would say they were enjoying the last of the sunshine until winter. Lily herself couldn't even resist the temptation of walking down the path near the tree. As she had approached it, she had noticed that if anything had gotten too close, the tree would swat whatever it wasthat got near. Lily had gone to see the tree with Julia and Megan.

"Why would someone put a tree like _that_ on a school grounds?" Megan asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea. It seems stupid." Lily said. As they were walking back to the castle, they noticed three kids walking towards the tree. As they kept walking, Lily noticed that it was James, Sirius, and Peter. Remus was missing. The boys walked right passed the three girls and heading towards the tree, towards the trunk.

"What do you guys think you're doing?" Julia asked them. Why would anyone want to go closer to the tree? You'd have to be completely mental.

"We're bored, and we're going to make up a new game. Got a problem with it?" Sirius answered.

"Yes, that tree is dangerous. Didn't you hear McGonagall say to leave it alone?" Lily said, sounding confident for the first time in a long while.

"Aww, Lily, I didn't know you cared." Sirius tried sounding sincere. "Besides, we're investigating."

"Investigating what?"

"I saw something over here last night, and I want to find out what it was." James had told her.

"You're nuts! The lot of you! I'm not letting you guys go." She started ranting.

"Look guys! Lily **does **feel!" Sirius yelled. Peter sniggered.

"You're not going **alone**." Lily finished.

"You are **not** coming with us. It's way to dangerous." James said; Sirius and Peter stopped laughing.

"So it's okay for you guys to go, but not us girls? That's a load of bull-" Lily started again.

"Okay! You can come!" Sirius interrupted. They started advancing towards the tree's enormous trunk. Lily was starting to feel anxious. She was disobeying a teacher. She shouldn't be getting into trouble this early in her career.

"Where's Remus?" Lily asked. She had been waiting for the right moment to ask.

"Still in the hospital wing. We aren't allowed to see him until he's better. Now come on." Sirius explained, sounded unnerved. Apparently he missed his scared friend. They had walked as close as they could to the tree without being hit. They started going forward, and then stopped. Peter, Julia, and Megan stopped dead. They were feeling the heat now. Sirius, James, and Lily had only stopped because they had realized they were missing a few. James and Sirius exchanged glances and nodded.

"Lily, you should stay here with Peter, Megan, and Julia. It could be dangerous." James spoke up.

"You're kidding. Why chicken out all of a sudden?" Lily said sounding scandalized.

"We don't want you getting hurt and then having to carry you back up to the hospital wing. You could be heavy and we don't want to take a test run. And you could be slow. So if we need a quick escape, you could be slow, then we'd have to go back for you, and knowing you, you'd be hurt, so **then** we'd have to carry your heavy butt all the way back to the castle. And then we'd get detention for being near the tree. That's what we're saying." Sirius said, summing it all up for her. Her face was deeply angry. She couldn't believe that had led her on so far to let her down.

"We'll be back." James declared. The two of them sprinted to the trunk without a scratch. They were pressed up against the tree trunk. They were moving their hands around and heads, looking for a sign of what was there last night, and where they had disappeared to so quickly. There was a moment of pure shock on James and Sirius's faces before they disappeared. Lily didn't feel like waiting anymore, so she started walking back towards the castle. Lily had come up to the Gryffindor common room when she had a brilliant idea. She was going to go visit Remus.

_"Where's Remus?"_

_"Still in the hospital wing. We're not allowed to see him until he's better…"_

Would she be allowed to visit? Or would she be turned away like his best friends were? The only way for her to find out was to go and try.

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James and Sirius had headed towards the tree trunk cautiously. They inched as close as possible, and then sprinted to the trunk. They had themselves literally strapped to the tree, flailing their heads around looking for any signs of footprints. It was James's hands that found the knot in the trunk. He pressed the knot and the whole tree was immobile once more. Just like it had been the night before. James's head turned to see if the others were still there, and sure enough, they had all gone. James had noticed that there was a small hole in which they could fit in if they wriggled. James led the way inside the tunnel. James and Sirius were led into what looked like a hallway that led into another hallway.

"Where do you think it leads to?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not sure, but I am sure that this is where the 'thing' had gone last night."

"No kidding." There were weird moaning noises coming from another room that was coming off of the hallway the boys were in. They looked down it and say the light pouring through the space between the door and the wall. The door was slightly ajar and James and Sirius peeked through it. What they saw surprised them beyond belief.

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Lily had crawled down to the fourth floor where she knew the hospital wing was. She stood outside the door leading to where the patients were kept. She couldn't go in. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She knew Remus was sick, but how sick could you be if you had to be in the hospital for a week? She entered the wing to find Madam Pomfrey lighting candles to light the wing. Lily looked outside. The sky was turning dark. Lily was wondering if James and Sirius were back yet. She was worried about them.

"Hello dear, whom are you seeking?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Remus Lupin." Lily stated promptly.

"He's unavailable. He should be out of the hospital sometime next week." Madam Pomfrey told her quite briskly. Lily felt she should not argue. She turned around and headed back for Gryffindor tower. Maybe James would be back and she could torture him with 'the girl in the mask'.

She made it into the common room and took a look around. James and Sirius were not in the common room. She creeped up the stairs to the boy's dormitories and into the room with the number on the door that was marked with a one. She walked into the room to find it empty as well. She walked back down to her bedroom and fell asleep, uneasy.

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The boys opened the door that was ajar and silently slid inside. Whatever it was had its back turned on the door. James and Sirius sneakily tried to get a view of the front of 'the thing'. James stepped on a creaky board, and the 'thing' turned around. It was a werewolf. The two boys had read about werewolves in books, but they were supposed to be scary and ferocious. This werewolf seemed sad. Its face was long and his eyes looked sad. Sirius walked closer to the werewolf, his hand outstretched.

"Sirius! What are you doing?!" James whispered.

"Shh!" Sirius said back to James. He inched closer and closer. The wolf still hadn't moved. Sirius's hand was touching the wolf's head. He pet the wolf as if it were a dog. "James, I think we have a problem…"

"What, you're attached?" James guessed.

"No, this isn't just an ordinary werewolf…" Sirius began.

"I noticed he's special, but we can't keep him. I know this is what I saw creep in here last night, and I know he's got to be special if he could make it in here unharmed, but Sirius, you can't keep a wild animal. No matter how tame they may seem." James lectured.

"James, this is Remus."

"I – What?!" James said, confused. How could that be Remus? How could Sirius know it was Remus? "How do you know?"

"Look at him!" Sirius exclaimed. "What other werewolf would be this calm? And look into his eyes. You can practically see his warm, kind soul!" The werewolf looked at him. His eyes seemed to laugh, even though the wolf couldn't. James looked in the wolves eyes, it did seem like Remus, but he couldn't be sure.

"Remus? Is that you?" James asked. The wolf seemed to nod his head once.

"See! I told you!" Sirius said, sounding pleased with himself.

"Remus, why didn't you tell us?" James asked the wolf. The wolf rolled his eyes. James looked confused and then looked at Sirius for support.

"Wolves can't talk genius. If you have questions, wait until he's back at school. Which should be next Monday, right Remus?" Sirius looked to the wolf who nodded at Sirius.

"Why can you answer him and not me?" James asked.

"He can only answer yes or no questions stupid!" Sirius said and smacked him on the head. "We should probably be getting back before we get in trouble. It's getting quite late, and I don't want to explain to McGonagall that we went through the stupid tree to meet a werewolf that happens to be one of our best friends. Do you?"

"No, actually. I don't think she'd believe us anyway." The wolf's head was nodding vigorously. "You mean she knows about you?" The wolf nodded again. "Why does McGonagall get to know and not us? This is ridiculous!" James said, sounding upset, but everyone knew this was an act the eleven year old would play to get his way. Sirius grabbed James's arm and pulled him through the door and back to the entryway where they had found the hallway. They climbed through the hole, pushed the knot in the tree, and sprinted to the front doors leading to the Entrance Hall. They made it into the Gryffindor common room without getting caught. They fell asleep quickly, awaiting Remus's arrival tomorrow morning.

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The week had flown by. Lily had been wondering where Remus was. He had been gone for about a week. Lily missed him, although she rarely talked to him. He was there the following Monday, and Lily had gone up to him and hugged him. He was very surprised.

"I'm sorry this is so sudden and random Remus, but you were gone for so long that I thought you were extremely ill. I went to go visit you, but Madam Pomfrey, but she told me that I wouldn't be allowed to." Lily said.

"Aww, I'm terribly sorry to scare you Lily. But I do have an illness. It keeps me from school for about a week each month." Remus explained to her. Lily's face looked sympathetic. She truly felt sorry for him. He wished he didn't have to lie to her. But technically, he wasn't lying. She carried on through the rest of the day, competing with James.

Lily had gone to dinner after classes and sat with Megan and Julia. They had been talking about going home for Christmas Break. Lily had not even thought about going home for Christmas. She forgot about that part in the deal. She did miss her mother and father and her sister, but she loved it at Hogwarts. She couldn't be away from magic for so long. She thought she would die.

"What are you doing for break Lily?" Julia asked.

"Home with my muggle family. Probably nothing more than that." Lily said, looking at her food sadly.

"Me too! Maybe you could come over for a bit?!" Julia said, excited.

"I'm just going to miss magic. Being in a muggle home, you see nothing magical. That's the only part that sucks." Lily told Julia, hoping to get some sympathy.

"Oh, I know! I hate it. I wish we could use our magic at home. You're so lucky Megan, coming from a family that has magicians in it. I bet you see magic all the time."

"Yeah, I suppose. Hey Sirius! James! Remus! Over here!" Megan yelled at the three friends. Peter was also with them, but Megan did not feel the need to yell his name. Lily sometimes felt bad for him. He was always left out. She sometimes wondered why the other three even pretended to be friends with him, because not even they would talk to him often. Nobody really liked him, but he liked to pretend he was part of their little clique.

"Hello ladies." Sirius said, trying to sound suave. Being an eleven year old, that didn't work too well seeing as how the girls weren't super interested in boys just yet. They hadn't reached that point in their lives where boys were all they think about. Puberty was only a mile away though.

"I'm done; I've got homework to finish. I'm off." Lily said. She started making her way towards the Entrance Hall to where the staircase was. On the way, she slipped on something on one of the stairs, and fell backwards. Luckily, someone was there behind her to catch her.

"Are you alright?" The voice asked her.

"Yeah, I'm alright I think." Lily responded. She turned around to get a peek at her rescuer. It was James. "Were you following me?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because you just entered the Great Hall as I was leaving and you never pass up a meal."

"Well I could always eat—" James stopped. He looked into Lily's eyes. They were a magnificent shade of bright green. He had never seen any eyes like that, except for…

"What? Is there something on my face?" Lily said, sounding paranoid.

"It was you…" James said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Last weekend. Halloween. It was you. I know it. I could never forget those eyes…" James said, trailing off.

"Oh, that…" Lily didn't know what to say. She was proud that he finally figured it out, but now that he did, she had no idea what she was supposed to say. She looked at James, looking for some sign of thinking going through his mind. He looked away and walked up the steps to the Gryffindor tower, as was she, but he didn't feel the need to wait for her. He was obviously upset. It was a stupid reason to be upset too. She didn't do anything except hide her identity for one night. How was that a crime? She climbed the stairs slowly so that she could give James time to make it to his room without having to confront Lily.

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The morning that Remus came back to school, James and Sirius couldn't wait for class to get over so they could discuss what had happened to him over the passed week, and why he hadn't told them sooner.

When classes finished, Sirius and James rushed Remus to the Great Hall so that he could eat and tell the story. Peter dragging along as always. They heard their names called by a girl to come sit with them. It was Megan. Her and her two friends had asked them to sit with them. He knew that if they did sit with the girls, they would be there forever and never get to hear the story. They didn't want to be rude, so they sat down and started eating immediately. James wasn't hungry. Lily had declared she was going up to finish homework, and James didn't want to go up alone, and he didn't want to watch the others eat. He followed Lily up to the Gryffindor common room. She was walking briskly, and she stepped on small puddle of water, undoubtedly left by Peeves, and slipped and fell backwards. James being not far behind stuck his arms out and caught her.

"Are you alright?" James had asked, being polite.

"Yeah, I'm alright I think." Lily responded. She turned around to look at him. "Were you following me?"

"Why would you ask that?" James asked, startled by this question.

"Because you just entered the Great Hall as I was leaving and you never pass up a meal."

"Well I could always eat—" James stopped. He looked into Lily's eyes. They were a magnificent shade of bright green. He had never seen any eyes like that, except for that night on Halloween.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Lily said, sounding paranoid.

"It was you…" James said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Last weekend. Halloween. It was you. I know it. I could never forget those eyes…" James said, trailing off.

"Oh, that…" Lily said, obviously unsure of what to say. James didn't know what to say either. He was a little upset. He remembered that night well. Lily, clumsy as she was, had tripped on the stairs, just as she had now. James did not catch her, but helped her up and walked her back to Gryffindor tower. They had connected on a level that James didn't know was possible with a girl. He had never really talked to a girl before. Now that he knew it was Lily, he was angry she hadn't told him earlier. He stormed off upstairs, not bothering to wait for Lily, though they were going to the same place. She obviously took the hint because she waited until there were at least two floors between James and herself. She was giving him space. He made it into the common room, steamed. He lingered for a while staring at the fire, then realizing Lily would be up soon, he sprinted to the top of the stairs leading to the boys dormitories. When he reached the top, he heard the portrait hole open, and someone walk through and sink into a comfy chair in front of the fire. James walked into his room and slammed the door.

After about a half an hour, the dormitory door opened, letting in Remus, Peter, and Sirius. James was lying on his bed, his head and feet hanging over. His face was turning red from the blood rushing to his head. He was swishing his wand back and forth, causing the rubber bat from Halloween back and forth.

"Something wrong mate?" Sirius asked while changing into pajamas.

"It was Lily," said James. Sirius stopped moving; he was frozen.

"What do you mean, 'it was Lily'?" Sirius asked.

"It was Lily, that night on Halloween. I figured it out, and when I confronted her, she had nothing to say. I had nothing to say. It was too difficult to get the words out. What was I supposed to do?" James asked.

"Well, I think it's stupid that you're not talking because she hid her identity." Remus said somewhat quietly.

"Well, I'll apologize tomorrow then. First, I want to know why you never told us about your…illness. I want to know everything." James said, sitting up, sounding interested for the first time in this conversation.

"It all started one day, I was young. My father and I had gone camping, and somehow, my father had made the mistake of offending the werewolf that bit me. After my first couple of times transforming on the full moon, I had realized the pain it is to change. It is the most painful thing I've ever endured. Even now, I feel pity on the poor man, well wolf, which bit me. He did not mean to, I'm sure. It was our fault offending the wolf and being where it was hunting or living. My parents have tried adapting to my problem, but I feel like no matter how hard they try, they'll never be able to understand." Remus explained.

"But why didn't you ever tell us?" James asked, still confused.

"Well I didn't know whether or not you would accept me. It was just easier to keep this a secret from everyone than to announce it to the school. Besides, I don't think that the student's parents would particularly enjoy their kids being around a dangerous animal." Remus started.

"I wish you would have told us, then we could have helped you through this dark, difficult time." James said.

"Maybe we still can!" Sirius said. He had an idea. An illegal idea, but an idea nonetheless. "We can become animagi!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Are you kidding me?" James looked at him as if he was drunk.

"No! Then Remus could be with us and he wouldn't have to worry about hurting us because werewolves only attack humans!"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but WE'RE FIRST YEARS!" James said.

"Well, we can wait; wait until we're a little smarter and ready." Sirius decided. They all climbed into bed and fell asleep.

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Lily crawled back into bed, wondering if James would ever speak to her again. It didn't seem like it. If only she hadn't led him on that evening on Halloween. Julia and Megan came in sometime later, but Lily had no idea when because she was already asleep. She had a strange dream far into the future. She was out of school, and was still best friends with those girls she loved so much; Julia and Megan. She met James, Sirius, Remus and Peter in Diagon Alley on day, and James still didn't want to talk to her. She woke up suddenly, not wanting any of that to happen. Never.

**Ooooook. So that was fun. Reviews anyone? Hows about it? I'd love it. Kthx**


	6. 1: Ex Best Friends and Pinky Promises

**Okay sooooo good? Yes? No? Review.**

**Year One**

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_**Chapter Six**_

The whole month of November passed slowly enough with no change. James was still not speaking to Lily. Sirius, James, and Remus were closer than ever. James was still depressed about not making the Quidditch team. Megan, Julia, and Lily had been even closer than before though. Since Lily wasn't speaking with James, she also wasn't speaking with Remus, Sirius, or Peter either. Not that she particularly talked to them much anyway. But she needed someone to talk to. She went everywhere with the two other girls. They were as inseparable as James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Lily thought they needed a name for their small "clique". Sometimes Lily would sit on her end of the table at dinner with her girls and instead of pretending to be listening to Julia rant on and on about clothes, she would look down the table at the boys. They were always laughing. Lily would think things she would have said to them if they were still talking. She actually missed competing with James.

December moved in, and it was nearing Christmas Break. Lily was ready to go home. She couldn't help but miss her family, and couldn't wait to leave Hogwarts. She didn't want to be anywhere near James Potter. On the last day of classes, none of the kids were focused. Nobody paid attention to anything that was said by the teachers. Lily went upstairs after dinner to start packing. The train left the next morning at exactly eleven o'clock.

The next morning Lily awoke at eight o'clock, jumped into the shower, and gathered her trunk. She carried her trunk down the stairs and dropped it with all the others in the Entrance Hall on her way to breakfast. She sat down with Megan and Julia and grabbed some toast. She looked down the table for James, but only saw Peter and Remus. Sirius and James were no where to be found. When breakfast was over, the three girls grabbed their trunks and carried them over the threshold to the grounds, and to the carriages that were pulled by an invisible force. The girls sat for a long time before the carriages started moving. They jumped out and brought the trunks on the train and put them on the racks above the seats. Lily looked out the window to see hundreds of students try an board the train before it left on its trek. The train blew a whistle signaling one minute before departure. There were no more students on the platform. The door of their compartment slammed open with Remus inside.

"Have you seen James and Sirius?" He asked wildly.

"No, I haven't seen them at all today," Julia said. Remus turned around and looked at Peter with wide eyes. Something was wrong; James and Sirius had not been seen since the night before. All of a sudden, the train started jerking forward. Then Lily could hear yelps of someone outside her window. She looked out and saw James and Sirius sprinting with their trunks trying to catch the train. Remus ran out to the door and flung it open, but did not linger in the doorway. Two trunks flew inside the train and landed with a loud "thud". Heads poked outside the compartments. Then two figures had appeared on top of each other and the trunks. The kids looking out laughed, even Lily.

"Why-didn't-you-wake-us-up?" James panted to Remus.

"I didn't know you were going to almost miss the train!" Remus told him.

"Doesn't-matter-we-made-it-didn't-we?" Sirius now panted.

"I suppose," Remus told them. The boys had walked by Lily's compartment where James gave Lily a dirty look. Lily stuck her foot out and tripped James. He looked back and glared at her. He said nothing; just looked back with that look. Lily would never forget that look.

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The train slowed to a stop some time later. Everyone was trying to get off the train at once. When Lily, Megan, and Julia all got off, they walked through the wall and into the train station. Julia spotted her parents first. The three girls walked over with her to introduce themselves. As Julia was saying goodbye to Megan and Lily, Megan found her parents. Lily walked over to Megan's parents to say hello. After meeting Megan's parents, her mom, who was a muggle, and her dad, who was a wizard. It seemed really odd to Lily, that the mother would be totally okay with having a witch and a wizard in the household. Lily thought if that were her, she'd be extremely jealous. At that moment, she spotted her parents and sister. Petunia had just turned thirteen, and being a teenager, thought she was better than everyone else already.

"Hi honey!" Her mother welcomed.

"Hi Mom, Dad, Petunia," Lily said. They walked to the car, and drove home. When they got home it was around eleven o'clock so they went home and to bed.

The next morning, Lily awoke wondering what to do. She wanted to write to Julia and Megan, but she had no owl to deliver the letters. It was early when she woke, but she still wanted to write something. She found the diary that she received for her eleventh birthday, and began writing in it. She wrote about how she missed Julia and Megan. She wrote about how she even missed James, Sirius, and Remus. After that, she crept downstairs for breakfast. In the hallway she met Petunia who walked right by Lily.

A few days later, Christmas had arrived. Lily received lots of clothes, which Lily would rarely wear. During school, Lily had a uniform to wear. Petunia got some books. She didn't look very happy about it either. The Evan's couldn't afford much because both of Lily's parents had come from poor families.

Lily ran upstairs to find an owl sitting outside her window, tapping. Lily sprinted to the window as Petunia walked by. Petunia saw Lily running towards the window, and wondered what was on the other side that was so important. When the owl flew into the room, Petunia was even more confused. She looked the owl up and down and noticed the envelope attached to its leg. She was getting mail by owl? How strange. Why was she changing so much? They hadn't even spoken since Lily came home. Then Petunia remembered on Lily's birthday, when she received a letter from her school by owl.

Lily opened the envelope addressed to her. It was from Remus. Why did Remus write her? She thought.

Lily,

I know you and James are fighting, so that leaves little time for me to talk with you, but I'm spending the rest of Christmas break with James and Sirius at James's parent's house. I'll inform you of anything if necessary.

Remus

Why had Remus wanted her to know about the three best friends' Christmas? She didn't. Why had Remus taken James and Lily's case into his own hands? Something was fishy there, and Lily couldn't even begin to understand why.

New Year's was the last day of Christmas break. Lily sat in the room in which she shared with her sister. They were watching the Ball drop, but not together. Petunia was so confused and upset that her and Lily weren't talking. She decided that if Lily wasn't going to speak to her, she wasn't going to speak to Lily. Lily spent her last night home, alone.

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James had been sitting in his living room, waiting. There was a fireplace in his living room, and James was staring at it. He got bored, and went into the kitchen where Melinda was making lunch. He sat and watched her work with her hands, until he got bored again. He then would move back into the living room and continue to stare at the fireplace.

He was awaiting the arrival of his two best friends; Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They were spending the rest of the Christmas break with them at his place. He would have much rather stayed at one of their places, but they insisted another time. Sirius was first to arrive. He came with his trunk full of clothes for school. He looked upset. His face was contorted so that his eyebrows hung low, his jaw set, and his hair in his face as to hide these features on his face. The flames of the fireplace turned an emerald green just before Sirius stepped out onto the rug in front of the fire. He tripped at the end of the rug and dropped his trunk. He hastily picked it back up and looked at James. James pointed up the stairs. Sirius stomped up the stairs and James heard the trunk slam on the ground. He then heard the stomping footsteps come back down the stairs.

"You wanna talk about it?" James asked.

"No," was all Sirius could manage. The both of them took spots on the couch, waiting for Remus to appear out of the fire. There was a knock on the door, and Melinda went to answer it.

"James! There's someone hear to see you!" Melinda yelled. James went to the door to see his friend. He met Remus at the door with all of his things. He looked quite overloaded. He had his trunk, a pillow, a sleeping bag, and a cage which held an owl.

"Why'd you come through the door, and when did you get an owl?" James had asked him.

"I wasn't sure about, the whole situation with floo powder. I didn't want to risk it. I got the owl for Christmas. Isn't he great? His name is…well I haven't named him yet." Remus said pointing to the eagle owl sitting inside the cage. James thought the three of them could come up with a good name in time. He took some of Remus's things and led him upstairs. Remus set his trunk down underneath James' bed and set the pillow on James' bed. James noticed where Sirius slammed his trunk on the ground. James shoved Sirius's trunk under the bed as well. The two boys made their way back downstairs to see Sirius, hoping to cheer him up.

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After awhile, Sirius calmed down and the boys were having fun. James had shown Sirius and Remus where James liked to be most of the time. He spent most of his time outside up in a huge tree. This tree was nothing like the tree that was built for Remus. It was a regular tree. James would climb up it to be alone. Not that his parents cared. The three boys went out to the tree, but went back inside after it started snowing. They all stayed in James' bedroom. Melinda came up and conjured two extra beds in James' room for Remus and Sirius. They stayed up late talking about Remus' "problem" and such things. Everything eleven year old boys talk about.

One night in particular, Remus seemed very interested in finding out why James and Lily were in a fight. He was asking all sorts of questions about Lily. James was beginning to think that Remus had some feelings for Lily, but wasn't going to say anything. If he really did, he would tell them.

"Why are you and Lily fighting?" Remus asked James.

"Because she lied to me," James responded, not elaborating.

"She didn't lie, she just didn't tell you. It's not like it was that important anyway…" Remus said.

"Well fine, but I'm not apologizing. Why should I? Maybe she should apologize," James said. Remus stopped talking about this, getting a good idea. He climbed out of bed and over to James' desk. He started scribbling a letter to someone. James tried to get a peek at who it was, but he was too far away and it was dark.

The letter was for Lily. It said this:

Dear Lily,

I've been talking with James over break. He seems to miss having you as a friend. He told me to tell you that he's sorry. I hope you can forgive him and maybe tell him that you're sorry too. Happy Christmas and New Year's.

Remus

Remus sent the letter off into the night with his new owl. He couldn't wait until school started.

The next morning, Remus' owl came during breakfast. It was Lily's reply.

Remus,

Really? I would never have guessed that. Well, I guess I'm sorry too, and I forgive him.

Lily

Remus handed the letter to James. He read it over and over. He was silent for several moments before saying:

"So we're friends again?"

"It seems that way doesn't it?" Sirius said, reading it over James' shoulder.

"Well, then, I guess, that's that," James said and continued eating his breakfast.

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Lily boarded the train alone once again. She trudged through the hallway, looking for an open compartment or the compartment with Julia and Megan. She found neither. She ended up in the back of the train desperate for somewhere to sit. The very last compartment that she checked contained Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter. She turned around to find another compartment when she heard Remus speak to her.

"Lily, come join us." James and Sirius looked at him like he was crazy. They were supposedly friends again, but no one really knew.

"I wouldn't want to intrude," Lily told them.

"It's fine, right guys?" Remus said and gave the others a stern look.

"Yeah, whatever," Sirius said. Lily sat down and waited for the train ride to end. She sat there listening to the four boys talk about strategies about wizard's chess and Exploding Snap. She fell asleep to the sound of their voices.

"Is she asleep?" James asked Remus who was sitting next to Lily.

"Yeah, looks like it, why?"

"Why did you invite her in?" He asked incredulously.

"You guys are friends again, it doesn't matter,"

"Well, things are weird. Couldn't you sense the tension when she walked in?"

"I did, mate. Downright weird," Sirius said, backing James up.

"It's not like you guys have any right to be mad at each other. Neither of you have done anything worth being mad over," Remus said.

"Well, it's still weird," Lily took a deep breath and turned over onto her other side. She was still asleep.

"She's sneaky, she's probably done other stuff that we don't know about yet," Sirius told Remus.

"Well, we'll deal with that when the time comes," Remus said. "But for now, let's just focus on the matters at hand."

They continued talking of Exploding Snap for the rest of the ride. They woke Lily when the train was five minutes from Hogsmeade station.

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Lily walked into the castle and straight to bed. She came downstairs into the common room after awhile. She couldn't sleep for sleeping so much on the train. The only one in the room that Lily knew was Remus. He walked up to her and sat her down. He told her of the conversation that went on while she was sleeping. She was not pleased. They had talked about her when she was asleep? Why? Remus brought it up, that's why. Remus was obsessed with finding out the weird relationship between Lily, James, and Sirius.

"So, what **do** you think about James?" Remus asked randomly.

"I don't know; I really don't know him that well to be honest. I just know that he's a trouble maker that gets upset at things often," Lily said.

"Really? I got the feeling that you felt something else, maybe I'm just wrong about everything," Remus said.

"No, I don't feel like that, I mean, I don't know him. Plus he seems like a git to me," Lily told him and chuckled a little. "Listen, I'm going to go for a walk, you want to come with?"

"No, I'm going to go to bed pretty soon. Thanks anyway," Remus told her.

She walked out of the portrait hole and Remus could hear her footsteps getting fainter and fainter. Remus turned on the couch and faced the air. All of a sudden James appeared out of thin air.

"This cloak comes in handy. Well at least we know she's not in love with me," James said.

"Yeah, well, let's get to bed; I'm beat," Remus said.

"Alright, night," James said, but he didn't get up. He gathered his cloak and stuffed it into his bag. He sighed. He was alone in the common room now. He looked into the fire and started talking to himself. "Well, it's good to know she doesn't love me. But she doesn't like me at all. Well who needs her? She's just some stupid girl. I knew she was trouble all along," James said. He turned around to go into the boy's dormitories. After he crawled up the stairs and was safely into his room, Lily came out.

"So **that's** what's going on? Well if he's going to hurt me like that, then I can hurt him too," She said and walked to the girl's dormitory with a plan.

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The next morning, Lily woke up bright and early, hoping to catch Remus so he could help execute her plan. She caught him coming out of the boy's dormitory. She told him what she heard from James last night. Remus didn't seem very shocked. She explained her plan to him and he seemed uneasy when she explained, but went with it anyway. Remus went back up into the boy's dormitory to execute the plan. Remus woke James, Sirius, and Peter up for breakfast. They slowly got dressed and sludged down to the Great Hall. They sat down by Lily, Julia, and Megan. Sirius was sitting by Lily, and James and Remus were across from them. Lily and Sirius left the table alone at the same time, lingering at the entrance of the Great Hall. They both stopped and were looking at each other intently. James was very interested in what was going on. At that moment, Sirius leaned in and kissed Lily, and she didn't pull away. James' jaw dropped. They both left the Great Hall together holding hands. James looked at Remus incredulously.

"What was that?!" James asked Remus.

"Didn't you know? He's been talking about her for ages. He's practically in love with her," Remus told him. It was difficult to lie to his best friend like that, but he was feeling sympathy for Lily. James wasn't the nicest kid on the block. The fact was, that while Remus was gathering the three boys for breakfast, Lily was rushing to the Great Hall, where she filled the goblet next to hers with a love potion that she had mixed the night before. Remus sat across from Lily so that James and Sirius couldn't sit next to each other. James wouldn't sit by Lily because he was still comprehending the fact that she didn't love him.

Once out of the Great Hall, Lily let go of Sirius' hand and wiped her mouth off. She didn't like this. She didn't like Sirius, but she wanted to get back at James badly. She couldn't keep slipping him love potions. She figured if she couldn't keep slipping him potions, she would find a way to bribe him into pretending for awhile. The potion would wear off in about twelve hours, so she had to make sure that she was with him just before it wore off. In twelve hours time, he would probably be getting ready for bed.

"Sirius, do you think that you could meet me in the common room tonight? Let's say at about ten?" She asked him sweetly.

"Of course, anything," Sirius said.

Sirius stared at Lily all throughout the day in every class. It seemed to anger James all the more. Lily grinned to herself and Remus. She was glad her plan was working. After classes, Lily did her homework, sitting next to Sirius in the library. James, Peter, and Remus walked in, saw Sirius with Lily, and walked back out. They both went back to their dormitories until ten.

Sirius walked into the dormitory looking dazed. James was sitting on the bed waiting for him.

"What are you playing at? We're supposed to be best friends and you don't tell me that you're practically in love with this girl that I've been having complications with since we first arrived?" James asked coldly.

"I'm sorry; I thought you'd hate me for it. But I think…I think I love her, James," Sirius said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've somewhere to be."

"Going to meet **her**?" James asked.

"What's it to you if I do? This is important to me, and private, so don't get your sneaky cloak and try to follow us, I'll make sure we're completely alone before either of us says anything worth any value," Sirius said and stormed out.

He entered the common room to find no one but Lily…Thankfully. Lily pulled him by the sleeves, and through the portrait hole. Remus had told her of a place he found the other day that he was pretty sure no one else knew about. He wouldn't tell her how he found out though. She went down to the hallway with Barnabas the Barmy. She thought to herself, _I need someplace quiet, with a love potion, and some comfy chairs, _three times. Suddenly a doorknob appeared on the portrait. She grabbed it and swung it open. She pulled Sirius inside. Insidelooked like the Gryffindor common room. It had a fire on the far wall with two comfy, poofy chairs in front of it. There was a small table with a few potions on it, which Lily could only guess, were love potions, in case things went wrong and Sirius wouldn't take a bribe. It was warm and cozy and Lily felt she could stay there forever. Then a little voice popped into her head. _I would be quick if I were you. James and Sirius are bound to have a row before you leave and James knows of the room. If you don't hurry, he could show up sometime. You might not know it either because he has certain ways of not being seen. _It was the voice of Remus Lupin. That was what he told Lily when they were conversing during class about the plan. So far it was working out like clockwork, but that could change at any moment. She had an hour to kill before the potion wore off, so she took a seat and waited; Sirius gazing at her all the while. Eleven o'clock finally came and Sirius seemed to pass out. Lily freaked and ran to his aide. He awoke unaware of where he was.

"Wazgonon?" Sirius said, slurring his words.

"Calm down, it's only us; we're in the Room of Requirement. Now, listen carefully and I'll fill you in on what's going on…" Lily told him. She explained the James situation and what she did to him that pissed James off. She advised Sirius not to try and be all buddy buddy with Sirius because he was upset that Sirius was "with Lily". Now Sirius started freaking out.

"So, I need your help. I need you to pretend we're dating to piss James off," Lily said.

"Are you out of your mind? James is my best mate! I can't do that!"

"But really, you already did, and he's already mad at you, and it doesn't look like he's going to let up anytime soon. You might as well play it out until you can get him to talk to you again,"

"Yes, I get where you're coming from, but I couldn't!"

"Please Sirius?" It was silent. Sirius seemed to be thinking.

"Alright, I suppose since he's already mad at me. How long will this charade go on?"

"I'm not sure, but it shouldn't be too long, I promise." Lily said and held out her pinky, expecting Sirius to take it with his pinky. He did and they shook on it. It was a pinky promise meant to be kept.

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**Mhm well. Interesting. I didn't like it. It's pretty much a filler chapter. I'm just waiting for time to pass. Hmm… I wonder….haha idk I'm just rambling. I'm excited about all the reviews I'm getting. Though I would love more. : )) loveyou**


	7. 1: Problems at home

**Ok so let's go. Now. **

**Year One**

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_**Chapter 7**_

The next couple of weeks passed by the same. Sirius and Lily had been putting on the charade that they were a couple. Everyone found it strange. No one saw it coming that a trouble maker and someone as unknown as Lily would end up together. Being a first year, no one really knew who either of them was anyway. Anyone who did know them looked on in shock. The days were all the same. Lily would wake up, take a shower, get dressed, meet Sirius in the common room, walk the hallways holding hands with Sirius to the Great Hall, pass James on the way, eat breakfast, go to classes, lunch, classes, dinner, and then spend the rest of the night doing homework in the common room while being with Sirius. She was getting annoyed with Sirius. He was not what she wanted in a boyfriend. She was glad she wasn't going to be with him for too much longer.

Weeks turned into months; the snow melted, flowers bloomed, and the temperature was rising. The weather turned warmer, summer was approaching, and she was still with Sirius. She spent most of her time outside by the lake with Sirius talking about boy stuff. Lily hated that. Students were stressed; it was exam time. Lily wasn't at all worried; she was a great student. Exams also came and gone. Time was passing so quickly and yet so slowly at the same time. She couldn't wait for summer to rid herself of the burden which she had come to call "Sirius". She needed time away from him and James. She would miss Julia and Megan severely though. She already missed them. She barely saw them now, being with Sirius all the time. They understood apparently, because they weren't angry with her. She promised to have them over during the summer. The only problem about going home was Petunia. Something was different with her. They used to be thick as thieves, but now, things were much different. Lily shook her head and brought herself back into the present. Sirius was wading into the lake, trying not to get his pants wet. At that moment, there was a random splash, and Sirius had water all over the front of his lower body. There was a laugh from behind the beech tree where Lily was sitting. James had apparently thought it was funny, because it was he who laughed, and undoubtedly he who made the splash.

"Oi! What was that for?!" Sirius yelled at James. James wasn't alone. He was with Remus and Peter.

"What do you think?!" James yelled back. Peter and Remus looked ashamed. They really weren't mad at Sirius. They talked to Sirius all the time when James wasn't around. Lily and Remus liked to talk too. She assumed that they would be writing all through summer holidays.

"I'm warning you James Potter!" Sirius yelled.

"Yeah? What are you going to do? Steal Remus away from me too?" He yelled.

"Excuse me?" Lily said getting up and turning around to face him. James' face turned red. "'Steal Remus from you?' Are you implying that Sirius stole _me _away from _you_?" Lily said.

"No, I mean, what I meant was…" James seemed lost for words.

"What you meant was that I stole Sirius away from you. It was all me. Sirius had nothing to do with this! He doesn't even like me! You shouldn't be mad at your best friend for 'taking me from you', when he didn't. All we did was talk. We're just friends, and that's all we've been for these past few months. Except that one kiss, but that's besides the point, it was the love potion. James Potter, you are just a bad friend who's stupid, can't see what's in front of his face, and is quick to jump to conclusions! I cannot believe you! Goodbye Sirius, Remus, Peter," Lily said. She couldn't take it anymore. Ever since Sirius had started "dating" Lily, James had been the meanest person to anyone. No one deserves to take that, especially from his best friend. Lily couldn't stand watching him get beaten up from his best friend like that. She broke. She stormed back to the castle to go pack. Sirius caught up with her on the third floor.

"Hey, why'd you spoil our cover? I thought you wanted to get at James?" Sirius said stopping her. Lily had tears in her eyes.

"I did, and even though it really didn't seem like it was doing anything, I think it did. He was hurting inside because his best friend had lied to him and all that, but to see him treat you like that wasn't fair to you. It wasn't your fault or even your idea! It was mine; I should have taken the blame. Not you," Lily told him, trying to stop crying.

"It's okay, just stop crying," Sirius said. He pulled Lily into a hug; the first hug she'd ever received from Sirius. "I'm used to that sort of treatment. At home, my parents favor my brother. They think he's going to do something big. They completely ignore me and treat me like dirt. Especially when we're in public. That's why I love being here with my friends all the time,"

"This makes even less sense as to why I made you go through with this. If you were denied family and friends at home, it only makes sense to make some at school, and I took that away from you. I'm so sorry," Lily said and started crying again. She sprinted up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. She then went to the girls' dormitory. She lay on her bed and cried her heart out.

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Lily crawled into bed that night. She hadn't left her room since the incident on the lawn earlier that afternoon. She sat up there and cried all day. She had turned into such a mean person. She had taken a boy from his best friend, watched that same boy get verbally beat up by his best friend, tried to hurt someone intentionally, and stopped talking to her real friends, all just for revenge. What had become of her? She looked around her bedroom. There were five beds, all empty. Abigail and Susie had the courtesy to leave Lily alone, but Megan and Julia had no idea that Lily was even up there. Lily kept thinking to herself: _If they knew I was up here, they'd be here to comfort me._ But then she thought that she didn't want them there, because she'd feel stupid. But she also thought that they wouldn't care about how stupid she was.

She fell asleep crying that night.

The next morning was the last day of term. Everyone started to finish packing. Most people hadn't finished because they were lazy procrastinators. Most of them were also first years; the older students knew better, and had most things packed. Lily, expecting this, had packed already. The four girls in her room began to frantically pack and run around looking for their belongings. Lily lied in bed, watching them. She didn't have enough strength to get up. She was wondering how she was going to make it to the train when she felt like this. She did not feel well at all. The whole not eating, moving, and hardly breathing thing she was doing had made her feel worse. Not only was she now thinking about her problems with her friends, she was now thinking about how not eating was affecting her thoughts. _I wonder what would happen if I didn't go to the train. If I just laid here until September the first came. Would someone come looking for me? _

"Come on Lily, the train's going to leave soon. We don't want to miss it," Julia said, trying to help Lily out of bed.

"Says who?" Lily said back. She quickly changed her clothes and grabbed the trunk that was under her bed. She hauled it down the stairs, through the Entrance Hall, and outside onto the Grounds. She followed the path to the entrance to Hogwarts, and the entrance to Hogsmeade where the train resided. It was getting close to eleven, when the train left. Lily, Julia, and Megan all found a compartment with Abigail and Susie. There was no other open compartments, and figured their roommates were good options.

Lily sat in the compartment not speaking. The other girls talked, feeling bad about Lily, no one had asked what was wrong, feeling it wasn't their business. Julia and Megan wanted to ask, feeling it was their duty as her best friends to help, but they couldn't get Lily alone. Abigail and Susie were always around. The train finally came to a stop, signaling that the train had reached its destination. Lily grabbed her trunk and hustled off the train. She wanted to avoid contact with anyone. She walked through the wall that held the entrance to the real world. She scanned her eyes over, looking for any sign of her sister or her parents. Sure enough she spotted her unusually tall father. She put on a fake smile, and walked towards them.

"Hi honey! How was school?" Her mother asked, holding her into a tight embrace.

"Fine, I'm glad to be home though," Lily admitted truthfully. She gave her father a hug, and went to give one to Petunia who shuffled away. Apparently she didn't want to be touched by Lily. She was two years older than Lily, and had her thirteenth birthday while Lily was at school. _Being a teenager must make you cranky._ Lily thought. They climbed into their car and headed home. Lily crawled up to her room, saying she needed sleep. She lay there in bed, thinking, trying not to cry. She fell asleep after Petunia came into bed.

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Her summer was filled with sleeping late and doing absolutely nothing. She called her best friend before she went to Hogwarts to see if she could come play. Her name was Bella. Her parents were leaving for the summer break, and asked if they could keep Bella for the summer holidays. Of course, her parents said yes. Bella and Lily played outside and pretended they were on missions to find treasure. How much fun you can have at eleven. Lily and Bella laid on the grass and watching the clouds.

"How's everyone? You know, back at school," Lily asked. She was curious to what her old friends were up to.

"Everyone's the same. You know Nathan really misses you. Have you talked to him since you've been back?" Bella asked. Nathan was her other best friend from the muggle world. Of course she hadn't spoken to him. It was the first Bella had heard from Lily; why would she call Nathan before Bella?

"No, I haven't. Should we invite him over?" Lily asked, she really missed Nathan all of a sudden too.

"Yeah! That'd be fun!" Bella exclaimed as she jumped up. They ran into the kitchen and pulled the phone off the wall. Lily went to dial his number, but realized, she had forgotten it.

"What's his number again?" Lily asked.

"You already forgot? Geesh give me the phone," Bella said, jokingly. She dialed the phone, said a few things, and hung up. "He'll be here in about five to ten minutes. He's really excited to have us all together again."

"I am too," Lily said, for the first time in a long time, feeling good about being around people. She heard a hoot from her bedroom. _Oh no! Someone must have sent me a letter! _She thought. Unfortunately, Bella heard it too.

"Did you just hear an owl hoot?" Bella asked. She looked around the house.

"Um, I have something to go take care of, will you watch for Nathan?" Lily asked.

"Sure," Bella said suspiciously. Lily waited until Bella was out the door before sprinting up the stairs and into her room before Bella walked around the house to Lily's window where the owl sat. She opened the window and let the, not one, but three owls inside. She untied each letter, popped her head out the window, to make sure Bella wouldn't see the owls, and let the owls free. She threw the letters onto her desk, and went to see Nathan and Bella.

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James' summer entailed many sleepless nights. If it wasn't because Sirius, Remus, or Peter was over, it was because he couldn't stop thinking about how Lily was being stupid. He really wished that he would have sorted things out with her before Summer Holidays. He hated being in a mess with people. As he was tossing and turning one night, he heard a faint tapping outside his window. He ran over to his window and let in the owl. It was from Sirius.

James,

I need your help. I'm running away from home. I can't stay here anymore. Let me know A.S.A.P.

Sirius

James, confused, wrote back:

Come whenever. My window. I'll wait.

He sent the owl along his way, and not even five minutes later, heard rocks tapping his window. Sirius was down on the ground, waiting to be let up. James threw down a blanket, a sheet, and a pillowcase, all tied together down for Sirius to climb up. (**A/N: **Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair! Haha too bad they're not muggle-born…) Sirius climbed up and made it into the bedroom. James let Sirius have the bed, and no more was spoken that night.

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Lily made it down the stairs and onto the front lawn quicker than you could say Quidditch. Nathan had just gotten out of the car and was saying goodbye to his mother, when Lily made it out the door. He turned around and saw, for the first time in a year, his two best friends, together. He ran at the both of them and pulled them into a huge hug. Little did he know, that it would be the last time he would do **that** again.

They spent hours playing outside. But then it got dark, and they trudged inside. They ran up to Lily's room, where the letters from earlier sat on her desk. Bella noticed them straight away.

"What are these?" She asked and pulled them off the table. She saw the parchment letters with Lily's name drawn intricately on one of them. The other two just had her name written on them. "Who are these from?" She asked, utterly confused. "They weren't here earlier…"

"I got them out of the mail when you were in the bathroom…" Lily tried covering it up.

"But they don't have any addresses on them!" Bella said, holding them up high. Bella was much taller than Lily. Lily was only 5'1", and Bella, well Bella was at least 5'5".

"Would you just trust me for once?!" Lily said, jumping and trying to grab her letters at the same time. She ended up knocking her down, and getting the letters when they were laughing and rolling on the floor. She hadn't laughed so much in a long time.

"What do the letters say anyway? Who are they from?" Nathan asked.

"They're just letters from my friends at school, I didn't want to bother you with details about them," Lily said.

"I want to read them!" Bella said, quite loudly.

"Okay, but let me read over them first. I want to make sure they're okay," Lily promised. She read each letter very carefully to make sure nothing about magic was mentioned in them. The first one was from Julia.

Lily,

How's your summer been? Mine's been fine here, you know how it is, you're in the same boat as me right now. I'm at Megan's house right now, that's how you got my letter, but we were wondering if you wanted to come over. I'm spending the rest of the summer with her. You could spend the summer here too, and we could even go to Diagon Alley together before school starts! Write back A.S.A.P.

Julia

"Okay, this one's fine. But I'll have to write back telling her no…" Lily said, diving into her second one, from Megan.

Hey Lily,

Summer? Good? Things are pretty good here, Jules is here. We've been hanging out, but unfortunately, we couldn't go flying. My dad's broom is broken, so we have to get a new one. But me and Jules are having a good time playing something called soccer. It's really fun. Hey, do you think you can spend the summer with us? Hope so, write back like……..now. Alright see ya.

Megan

"Sorry, but this one you can't read. Sorry. It's got a few metaphors that might confuse you. Megan's just weird," Lily set the letter down as she grabbed the last letter, which felt a little heavier. She opened it and noticed it was from Remus.

Lily,

Listen, I've some important news for you; but first, how's your summer been? Have you seen Megan or Julia? Or have you been stuck with your family all holiday? Me? I've been home mostly, but James has invited me over to his place for the rest of the summer. It seems really important, like something's come up. I'm not exactly positive of what it is right now, but if it's really important, I'll be sure to inform you.

Anyway, my important news was basically the whole staying with James. I think it's serious. I mean, I believe Sirius is there with him, but I don't know if it's Sirius, or if it's James that has a problem. But he needs us to be together for an important meeting type thing. I wanted to let you know in case it really is something serious. If it really comes down to it, I might have to call you down to help us. Hopefully it won't have to come down to that. I'll talk to you later.

Remus

"You could read this one too if you'd like," Lily started, then she noticed that Bella was reading a letter. But it was not the letter Lily had handed to her.

"What is she talking about? What's all this mumbo jumbo about flying broomsticks? And how does she not know what soccer is?" Bella was saying.

"Okay, I told you that you wouldn't understand, it's just…the way she is," Lily said. Bella started reading the letter from Remus, and was slightly taken aback.

"What's wrong with these boys?" Bella asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Lily told her. Nathan was sitting on the bed, waiting for their girl talk to end. At that moment, another owl flew to her window. She closed her drapes immediately. "Um, could you guys run down to the kitchen and grab some sodas and chocolate? I've got to go to the bathroom. You know where they are, right?"

"Yes, Lily, we know," Bella said, dragging Nathan down the stairs. Lily pulled back the drapes and let the owl in. She pulled the letter off and let the owl back out before Nathan or Bella could come back. She ripped the envelope open and read the scribbled handwriting that was undoubtedly written in haste recently.

Lily,

It's gotten bad. I need you to come to James' place. I've sent a map, and I hope you can get here as soon as possible. I need you to be here.

Remus

Lily was torn. She couldn't just leave Nathan and Bella all alone, but she couldn't take them with her. They were muggles. She was being told to go to a pure-blooded wizard's house. There was no way they wouldn't realize something was up. Nathan would probably have to go soon, so that took care of that, but Bella was staying all summer. She couldn't very well ditch her best friend. She was going to have to make a decision now. She sprinted down the stairs to find Bella and Nathan arguing about something unimportant. Her parents had left a note saying they'd be out for the weekend, and to be careful.

"Nathan, your parents called, they want you home soon, they said you could walk," Lily said, trying to get him to leave. Nathan only lived around the block. He said goodbye and walked out the door. "Hurry, we have to be quick!" Lily whispered. Lily ran and grabbed jackets for the both of them and ran out the door.

"Where are we going? What are we doing? Hello! Tell me what's going on!!" Bella said. Lily pulled out the map, and sprinted to James' house.

"We're visiting a friend. Remember that letter you read from Remus?"

"Yeah, the one that was really long and was talking about those other boys….James and Sirius?"

"Yes, well, it's become an emergency apparently, and we have to go there. It shouldn't be too long, I hope," Lily told her.

When they finally got to the mansion that was James Potter's, they bolted inside, and up the stairs. Lily motioned to Bella to be quiet so as not to let anyone know they were there. They heard voices. Remus opened the door and snuck into the hallway where Lily and Bella were. He was surprised.

"Good you made it, who's this?" He motioned to Bella.

"This is my best friend Bella. What's the problem?" Lily asked. Remus pulled her into the room in which he came.

"Why's _she_ here?!" James and Sirius both asked at once. "And who is she with?"

"She's here to help you out. She can help as much as anyone, I figured," Remus said.

"What's going on?" Lily asked.

"Sirius has run away from home to escape his brother," Remus told them. "His _ten year old brother_."

"Are you serious?" Bella asked.

"No, he's Remus. _That's_ Sirius," James explained, trying to be funny. He wasn't.

"She meant _serious._ Like, are you kidding?" Lily told him.

"Why did you run away?" Lily asked.

"That's none of your business. You can leave," Sirius told her. He had never been mean, or so hurtful to Lily before. They shared some good times together when they were "dating", but she never expected this. She knew about his brother. She knew he was obsessed with the dark arts. She knew he was his parents' favorite. And she knew that Sirius' parents don't even like Sirius. She thought that it was a little strange that he would run away from his brother, when he never really said anything about him. He said plenty of horrible things about his parents though. She wondered if it was his parents he was really running from.

"Fine, but that'll be the last time I ever even **try** to help you!" Lily yelled and ran out of the house with Bella trailing her. Bella was utterly confused. She didn't say anything though, she was going to wait and ask questions later.

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**Sooooo pretty boring and uneventful right now. Sorry. **


	8. 2: Never Getting Married

**Yeah this story is…..not quite eventful yet. And to be quite honest….that part about Nathan not going to be able to hug Lily and Bella again….I have no idea why I wrote that. I can't remember what was supposed to happen. So I'll just have to remake that part up later on. Mmmmmk. Read. Now.**

**Year Two**

_**Chapter 8**_

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The summer came to an interesting close. Bella's parents came home, so Lily saw the last of her a little early. She hadn't seen Nathan since the night she went to James' house. She wanted to get the three of them together again before school, but it couldn't happen.

Lily received her Hogwarts letter saying what books she would be needing for school that year. She was not excited to go back to school. School meant more homework, more uniforms, and even worse, more Sirius and James. She was especially not looking forward to that.

Lily's twelfth birthday had approached as well. She hadn't seen much of her parents lately, and didn't expect them to remember her birthday. Petunia seemed grouchier than ever that summer. She was thirteen and a half. You always had to add in that half. Lily supposed that being thirteen meant she didn't want to be seen with someone as "immature" as Lily. For her birthday, Lily had received a few cards in the mail from Bella, Nathan, Megan, Julia, and Remus. She had also gotten a few gifts from her parents.

Lily's parents drove her to King's Cross Station. Petunia decided to stay home. She didn't want to be anywhere near Lily. Lily stepped through the passage she knew led to the Hogwarts' Express. She stepped onto the Express to get a good seat. She found Julia and Megan hunched over a piece of parchment. They looked up to see Lily standing in the doorway.

"Lily!" The two friends said. They jumped up and hugged her. Lily had missed them dearly. "How was your summer?"

"Mine was great. I had my two best muggle friends over all the time. I missed them, but I've missed you two greatly too," Lily told her. "But enough about my summer; what about yours? I bet you had a very exciting summer!"

The two girls got into a long discussion about their summers. Lily listened patiently. Megan was telling of how they snuck out of the house to go to a party down the street when a light bulb went off in Lily's head. She had forgotten to tell them about James' house. They went on forever about this one party. After they finished, Lily couldn't wait to tell her story. When Lily finished, both girls were awestruck. They didn't know what to say. All of a sudden, their door slid open. In looked James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus.

"Nevermind, they're full," James said. He was still upset at Lily for trying to hurt him. James, Sirius, and Peter started making their way out, but Remus didn't move. "Come on Remus," James said again.

"No, I'm staying here," Remus declared. "I'm friends with these girls whether you still are or not."

"Fine, we're going somewhere else," Sirius said.

"Wow, they **are **being jerks," Julia said after they left.

"They're just having problems at home. They're trying to sort through it all, and since they're both having rough times, they decided they wanted to sort through it together. Peter and I are just out of the loop, but Peter doesn't have any other friends like I do," Remus explained.

"What kind of things are going on at home with them?" Lily asked.

"I'm not supposed to tell you, I don't think anyone is really supposed to know. It's a best friend thing. If they want you to know, they'll tell you," Remus said.

"You know that neither of them will tell me!" Lily complained.

"That's exactly what I was getting at," Remus said, and then he grinned. She and Remus broke out into laughs. Julia and Megan started hunching over their parchment again, and were talking in hushed voices the rest of the way home. Lily decided she'd ask later when Remus wasn't around. Until then, she was going to enjoy the limited time with Remus. Especially since she hadn't laughed in the longest time.

They got to school and the four of them had exited the train directly behind James, Sirius, and Peter. They were mumbling something, and looked around to make sure no one could hear them. When they saw Lily, they sped off and away and continued their conversation. Lily was determined to find out what they always talked about. Remus and Lily followed the rest of the older students. They honestly had no idea where to go. They discovered that they needed to climb into these carriages. They shared theirs with Megan and Julia. The carriage suddenly started moving, and it scared Lily. When she looked outside, there was nothing pulling the carriage. Then she remembered that she went to a school of **magic.** Nothing should surprise her these days. The carriages made it to the school and the four of them walked to the castle. They walked into the Great Hall where they awaited the feast to begin. The feast had started and ended in the blink of an eye. Lily didn't realize how late it was until the plates were cleared and Dumbledore had gotten up to make his annual start-of-term speech. Lily didn't even listen to his speech. She climbed the stairs up seven floors to the Gryffindor Tower. She trudged up to her dormitory. She was not tired. She did not want to go to sleep. All of the girls in her dormitory had gotten ready for bed and were all climbing in and settling themselves for sleep. Lily sat on her bed watching them. She went back down the stairs to the common room to find it empty. She wanted someone to talk to. She opened the portrait hole and started wandering the seventh floor. She was running her hand along the walls when she felt knob sticking out of a portrait. She stopped and looked at the portrait. She did not see the knob, but she could feel it. She knew it was there. She pulled on it and the portrait pulled forward revealing a passage. Lily looked around for signs of life, and then crawled into the passage. She followed the passage down a lot of stairs until there was another door. She pushed it open and stuck her head out. She peeked around the door and noticed she was in the Entrance Hall. It was lifeless. She crawled out of the passage and noticed what portrait she would need to get back to her room. It was a portrait of a woman and her young child. Lily could remember that. She opened the doors leading onto the grounds. She was welcomed by a warm summer breeze. Oh how she missed summer. She walked over to the lake and stuck her feet in. There was a small beech tree nearby. She could have sworn that she heard someone talking. She pulled her feet out of the water and walked over to the beech tree. She stood on the opposite side of the tree from the voice. She heard a boy talking to someone, or himself.

"Why can nothing go right for me? Ever? It's stupid! I hate my life. I cannot believe this, and then to have him come and try and make both of our lives better. It's not working. I miss the four of us hanging out together. Even if it was just the three of us minus Peter! We had so much fun, but now he's hanging out with the girl who hates me and….URGH!!!" He screamed into the night. Lily knew who it was immediately. It was James Potter. She poked her head around the tree to see the back of his head with his black hair. He tried to comb it, but it would not look tidy. No matter what.

"Please don't kill yourself, that wouldn't be too good. It would mean the end of Sirius too, which means Peter and Remus would probably kill themselves too, which means I'd lose my best friend. And we can't have that happening now can we?" Lily said. James spun around, getting off of the ground. He was wearing a cloak that was somewhat dark. He was shivering. Lily was still wearing her uniform, and far from cold.

"What are you doing here? How much did you hear?" James asked.

"I'm here for the same reason you are. I can't sleep, I love being outside. Especially at night. And I didn't hear much, just from where your life sucks and you hate it," Lily replied.

"Yeah, well, what'd you care? You just, want to make my life as miserable as possible," James came back lamely.

"Me? I think you're mistaking me for you. Sorry for that mix up," Lily told him and started laughing. She hadn't laughed so much today then the whole time she'd been at Hogwarts.

"Glad you think it's funny. It's a horrible situation. Why do you want to make it worse? All I need is help right now, and no one can give it to me. Not even my best friends in the whole world," James said.

"I'm not trying to. I think we're just being really stupid about everything. I mean we're twelve years old for goodness sakes! We should live a little!" Lily said. "What do you say, truce?" James stared at her a moment, contemplating whether or not it was a good decision. In the end he shook Lily's hand. "There, now, come on, let's head up to the castle, huh?"

"Sure, but climb under this, we'll escape the teachers this way," James told her.

"I did find a passage that we could climb through that would take us to the seventh floor," Lily told him.

"Well, come on, let's make our way up there," James insisted. Lily walked over to James who turned his cloak inside out. Once inside out, James' body disappeared. It was his old invisibility cloak. She climbed underneath it with him and they made their way back up to the great front doors. Once there, they tried pulling it open, but failed. They had been locked.

"Great, now how are we going to get in?" Lily asked James. He always had a plan. He sat there for a moment, debating different ways to get into the castle.

"Follow me," James said quietly. The two of them walked to Hagrid's hut and knocked on the door. There was a loud grumpy sounding mumble from behind it. Hagrid opened the door to find no one there.

"You foul little kids! Come out an' show your faces! Detention fer all o' ya!" Hagrid yelled into the night. James pulled the cloak off of his and Lily's head.

"Hello Hagrid, you see, we were just wondering if you could open the front doors for us. We seemed to have gotten locked out," James smooth talked.

"The on'y way yeh get locked out is if yeh outta tha' castle after hours. Now, what would yeh be outta tha' castle after hours fer anyway?" Hagrid asked.

"Well, you see, we were having some difficulties with summer and school and we just needed to get away. We lost track of time and got locked out," James explained. It seemed to have worked. Hagrid grabbed his set of keys and his large jacket and made his way outside with Lily and James. They made it back to the castle, and Hagrid let them in.

"Now I'm not walking yeh up to your tower, yeh can explain tha' one to the teacher," Hagrid said. "G'night."

"Goodnight," Lily and James both said. They pulled the cloak back over their heads and searched for the portrait with the lady and her child. They found it easily and climbed stairs until they reached the end. The cloak was pulled back over their heads as they followed the walls to the portrait of the fat lady. They said the password and crawled inside. Once inside they took the cloak off and parted their separate ways.

"Goodnight Lily Evans," James said before she went into the girl's dormitory.

"Goodnight James Potter," Lily said and ascended the stairs into her room.

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The next morning James awoke with a start. He had a horrible dream, but as soon as he woke, he couldn't remember what it was. He climbed out of bed to find everyone still asleep. He walked over to the window and pulled the curtains back. The sun was just beginning to rise. At that moment, he felt a strange urge to go and talk with Lily. He enjoyed talking to her as much as he enjoyed torturing her. It was nice to have an outsider's perspective. He grabbed his uniform and made his way to the bathroom to start the day.

He left the bathroom unwillingly, but he knew he had to go to breakfast and then to History of Magic. He convinced himself that he just had to get through breakfast and he could sleep some more during History of Magic. Professor Binns was the teacher. He was the only teacher that was a ghost. He didn't notice that everyone in his class slept. Everyone that is except for Lily. Lily was a good student who paid attention and took notes. She did well in that class. She was probably the only person in the whole school to do well in History of Magic.

On the way to breakfast, James ran into Remus who was making his way down to breakfast as well. They didn't say anything, but walked along together. They entered the Great Hall and sat down next to Lily. Remus on her left, and James on her right.

"Hey, can I talk to you? After classes today?" James whispered to Lily.

"Of course, is it important?" Lily asked.

"Well, kind of. It seems like it to me, I just need to talk," James told her.

"Okay, that's fine," Lily told him, and was true to her word.

After classes that evening, James sought Lily out for their conversation. He wanted to talk to her about his family and Sirius. He felt like he could open up to Lily, like she would listen and care. She seemed to be that way towards everyone else, why should James be any different?

"Hey," James said, coming up behind her. She was not expecting it, and jumped a mile high.

"Oh my goodness! You scared me!" She told him.

"Sorry, I just saw you, and…"

"I get it, so what did you want to talk to me about?" Lily asked, curiously.

"Well, you see, lately I've been really upset. I mean, Sirius' family is just being stupid. His parents favor his younger brother, so Sirius always gets cut short. Over the summer, it got so bad that Sirius ran away from home to get away from his parents, but mostly his brother. They shared a room you know. They were always together. Sirius got so fed up he ran away, to my house. He climbed up the siding and stayed with me and my family. My parents didn't know that he was there for most of the days, but when they found out, they were furious. They won't let him stay with us anymore, and Sirius doesn't know where he's going to stay. He doesn't think he'll be able to go back home. He doesn't know if his parents will allow it. I'm freaking out trying to help him, and Remus…oh Remus. He's having his usual "time of the month" and that's becoming more of a hassle than ever these days. I can't take it all. And Peter keeps hanging around…" James vented.

"Wow, that's a lot to deal with, um…well…you could…I have no idea," Lily said. "I guess I'm no help. Unless it helps to vent? Well, even if it doesn't, I can always help think of something? And if I can't think of anything, I care. If that helps," Lily said.

"It does. Thank you," James said and walked out the portrait hole to do who knows what.

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Once outside the portrait hole, James wandered a bit before finding Sirius. They had been having some major upsets in their lives lately. They had been looking for some fun, but had not been able to find any on their first week back. How disappointing they thought. Sirius came up with the brilliant idea to cause their own havoc and have some fun with that. James and Sirius had never started the havoc that they continually got themselves caught up in. James was a bit scared, but agreed to it anyway. They met Remus and Peter walking down to the second floor. They had just emerged from the library.

"Would you like to have some fun?" Sirius asked the two of them. Peter nodded vigorously, while Remus was a bit skeptical. Typical Remus. "Well, come on then."

They walked down to the Entrance Hall where they found a Hufflepuff fourth year yelling at some poor innocent Gryffindor first year. The Gryffindor looked frightened, but as they approached, they realized the Hufflepuff wasn't yelling at the Gryffindor, he was boasting loudly about how great he was at Quidditch. James and Sirius recognized him as Bertram Aubrey, a very awful Quidditch player. He was on the team as a beater, because no one else tried out to take his place. Sirius and James looked at each other and nodded.

"Oi! Aubrey! What are you doing? Lying to this poor, innocent, Gryffindor?!" Sirius yelled at him.

"Excuse me?" Bertram said, obviously confused with the situation at hand.

"You heard him, you stink at Quidditch! Why don't you get your head out of your arse and decrease the size of your head!" James yelled at him.

James and Sirius both shouted the same curse at him at the same time. Bertram was knocked backwards, and when he arose, his head was swelling to twice its normal size. It was getting too heavy for him to lift it.

"Black and Potter!" Came the sound of Professor Slughorn from the top of the stairs. "My office, NOW!"

The boys walked into the dungeons, followed closely by Professor Slughorn. Once inside his office. He seemed to calm down a little, but still furious nonetheless.

"You two boys think you're clever do you?" Slughorn asked.

The boys exchanged looks and then nodded and said, "Yeah, a bit."

"The use of that spell is illegal at this school. Did you know that?" Both boys shook their heads. "I didn't think so. Now, I'm giving the both of you double detentions. That seems quite fair, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, I suppose," They both said. They left the dungeons and climbed to the Gryffindor common room once again. They entered to find it completely empty, save one person. Lily Evans. She looked up at them, gave them an evil glare, and packed her stuff up and headed towards the girl's dormitory.

"What's gotten up her butt?" Sirius asked.

"No idea," James said and they walked up to the boy's dormitory to see Peter and Remus.

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After James had left speaking with Lily, he had walked out the portrait hole. Since Lily had nothing else to do, decided to follow James and see what he was off to do. She had followed him all the way down to the Entrance Hall where she could see James and Sirius looking at each other.

_What are they thinking?_ Lily thought to herself. She was having trouble thinking because there was an obnoxious fourth year Hufflepuff screaming at some poor first year Gryffindor. She looked around and saw that it was Bertram Aubrey. He wasn't just yelling at the Gryffindor, he was yelling about how great he was at Quidditch. Everyone knew that he wasn't good at all at Quidditch. Lily rolled her eyes when she looked over at James and Sirius again. They were some feet away from Peter and Remus who were looking a little nervous. Just then, Lily heard someone yell at Bertram.

"Oi! Aubrey! What are you doing? Lying to this poor, innocent, Gryffindor?!" Sirius yelled at him. _Oh no what in the world did he think he was doing? He's going to get the snot beat out of him. _Lily thought.

"Excuse me?" Bertram said, obviously confused with the situation at hand.

"You heard him, you **stink** at Quidditch! Why don't you get your head out of your arse and decrease the size of your head!" James yelled at him.

James and Sirius both shouted the same curse at him at the same time. Bertram was knocked backwards, and when he arose, his head was swelling to twice its normal size. It was getting too heavy for him to lift it.

"Black and Potter!" Came the sound of Professor Slughorn from the top of the stairs. "My office, NOW!" Sirius and James crawled to the dungeons with Professor Slughorn. Peter and Remus turned around and headed towards the common room, but not before running into Lily.

"What in the world was that all about?!" Lily whispered.

"They were bored, they wanted to have some fun," Remus said. "I know that sounds bad, but they didn't intend to do that when they left the common room. I promise. It just sort of, happened I guess."

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever seen," Lily said. She saw Madam Pomfrey magically carry Bertram up to the Hospital Wing. "I think I'm going to visit Bertram before I head back up to the common room."

"Why?"

"Because he's going to need company. I hate people like that. People that have to suffer because other stupid people just want to have a good time…It's so stupid. I hate people like James and Sirius."

"You know why you hate people like them?" Remus asked.

"Why?" Lily asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because you care about people. You love people."

"Well right now I have no loving feelings towards James or Sirius,"

"You do, you just are angry with them right now. That's all. You'll love them again eventually,"

Lily and Remus walked up to the Gryffindor common room, where Lily plopped down on the couch. Remus went up to bed, but Lily wanted to finish her paper for potions. As she finished and started packing up her things, there was no one in the common room left. Lily had put her quill and ink into her bag when the portrait hole opened. In came Sirius and James. Lily scowled and stormed up to the girl's dormitory. She couldn't believe how stupid boys could be.

"I'll never marry, I swear it," Lily said to her self as she walked into her room. Everyone was asleep when she came in. She was quiet, but lingered with everything she did. She wasn't ready for sleep just yet. She couldn't stop thinking about how stupid and selfish James and Sirius were. She lied in bed and fell asleep thinking about Sirius and James.

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"Oi! Get up you fat lump! We're going to be late for Quidditch Try-outs!!" Sirius yelled early the next morning. James awoke groggily. _Quiddtich try-outs?_ He had completely forgotten. This year's new captain had wanted to start the team early so they could start training early. He jumped out of bed and threw some clothes on. He rushed downstairs, grabbed a piece of toast, and him and Sirius sprinted down to the Quidditch pitch. Once they reached the pitch with all the others, James bent over to catch his breath.

"Why…didn't…you…remind me…last night…about…try-outs?" James asked between breaths.

"Because…I thought…you'd…remember…something…as important…as that," Sirius breathed.

"I wish…I had…remembered then," James said.

The captain had been Jeffrey Monroe, a seventh year, his first year as captain. He was excited to get started.

"Alright, everyone do a warm-up lap around the pitch and then we'll have chasers on my left, beaters on my right, seekers behind me, and keepers in front of me," Jeffrey said. He was a beater. James and Sirius were at the head of all the students during warm-up, but when they landed, they did not know which group they belonged to. They had played many positions, but didn't have a specific one in mind. Sirius had mind to try for keeper, but James did not want to play keeper. James flew over to the seekers. He thought he'd be the best of that lot. He was tired of playing chaser anyway.

Jeffrey had started with keepers, and had eliminated half of them immediately. Sirius was still in it. Before they finished with the keepers, Jeffrey moved to the chasers. There he eliminated half of them, and then half of the beaters before going to the seekers. He again eliminated half.

"Good, now let's see what you've got," Jeffrey told them.

The chasers were first. Jeffrey had picked Jacob Johnson, Mark Dennison, and Leslie Portman. He then moved to the beaters, who he could only choose one, because he couldn't eliminate himself. He had chosen his twin sister, Mandy Monroe. Then he moved to the keepers, which made James nervous for Sirius. Sirius had done great, but Jeffrey had decided to go with Mollie Shields. James didn't think she was better than Sirius, he thought Jeffrey had a little crush on the sixth year, but he didn't have time to contemplate because the seekers were up finally. He glanced at Sirius, who gave him thumbs up. James smiled back and continued with the try-out.

James was the third to go up. He was flying spectacular. He was flying around, doing intricate patterns with his broom, and searching for that tiny golden ball flying through the air to outsmart him. He had seen it, but then the clouds went dark, and James looked up at the sky as the it boomed.

"Keep flying! We're almost finished, it won't hit us yet!" James heard Jeffrey yell to him. James kept flying. He had lost the snitch, but kept searching. His glasses had started fogging up and he'd have to wipe them off every five seconds. There was another boom of thunder, and then there was a strike of lightning. James was determined to catch the snitch before the storm had hit. He'd promised himself.

Just then, there was another flash of lightning, and all James saw was the lightning hit the front end of his broom and split it down the middle. James was falling from the sky, three hundred feet from the ground. He was falling and no one was there to catch him. He hit the ground, and fainted.

"JAMES!!" Was all James heard before everything left him.

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**Ok well I'm pretty sure that you guys know he doesn't die. Duh, then Harry wouldn't even happen…unless I have a twisted plot…ohohohohohohoh. Yeah I know, kuh-razy right? Well I'm hoping for about a million reviews because I need more. And again I'm EXTREMELY sorry that I haven't posted this in a long time. My free time has become Ryan time. And extreme writer's block. And exams. And stuff like that. But I do love you. I promise : ))**


	9. 2: Forgotten

**Ok cliff hanger!!! Sorry I've been so slow. I've had exams all week. And volleyball conditioning. Sucks extremely bad. Ok soooooooo read.**

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**Year Two.**

**Chapter Nine.**

The next time James awoke, he was in the hospital wing. He had awoken with many bandages around his arms and legs, which was surprising because Madam Pomfrey usually fixed that up without bandages. He could not hear anyone in the wing with him, so he did not move. He got bored immediately and turned his head. There he saw Lily Evans. That shocked him beyond belief. He did not expect to see anyone, let alone Lily Evans.

"Why are you here?" James asked.

"Wow, are you honestly being snotty _now_?" Lily said back.

"Sorry, I'm a little out of it, I did just fall three hundred feet you know," James said.

"Yes, and that sucks, but right now, that's no excuse," Lily told him.

"What, you didn't know cute guys fall from the sky?" James said smartly.

"If cute guys fell out of the sky, why did you fall?" Lily snapped back.

"Touché, touché," James said.

James sat up a little before asking what happened.

"You wanna know what happened? I'll tell you what happened," Lily said. "Well, the lightning hit your broom and you fell. After that you went unconscious. You were carried up here, and haven't woken in two days. I've sat here waiting for you to wake up,"

"You waited for me? The whole weekend? Why? You hate me! And I don't even know why! And you're forgetting one little part, before I went unconscious, I heard someone scream my name, who was that?" James asked.

"Oh, I hate you because you randomly cursed some kid who's older than you, and in Hufflepuff. You know he wouldn't be able to protect himself!" Lily told him.

"Okay, well you still didn't answer the whole question about who screamed my name," James said, grinning. He knew Lily was avoiding this question, and he thought he had an idea on who it was too. Lily's face flushed red. It almost matched her hair.

"Oh, her…well…that's not important, is it?" Lily asked awkwardly.

"Oh, it's _extremely_ important. I mean, it's the most important thing to me right now," James told her.

"Alright! It was me! I was worried, okay?" Lily said exasperated. Just then Madam Pomfrey walked in and glared at Lily.

"Miss Evans, maybe it would be best if you left, Mr. Potter needs his sleep," Madam Pomfrey said.

"Madam Pomfrey, I think James would like some company, and I think I'd be a lot better company than Sirius, Peter, or Remus would, don't you?" Lily asked. Madam's face paled considerably. She knew how terrorizing they could get.

"Alright, a little while longer, but no more than twenty minutes," Madam said.

"That's alright, I've got homework anyway," Lily told her. She stood up, getting ready to leave.

"Don't leave! I'll be all alone! I need someone! You can't leave me alone with Madam Pomfrey!" He whispered.

"Well, maybe you should have been nicer to me earlier!" Lily yelled as she skipped off. Madam Pomfrey glared at her as she left. James was all alone with the head nurse for one more night.

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Lily walked up to the Gryffindor common room. On the way she had met Sirius who was undoubtedly on his way to visit James. He was carrying something that he was trying to keep out of Lily's eyesight. But Lily was an observant child, and always had been.

"What's that?" Lily asked, feeling somewhat confident having made James beg for her to stay.

"It's nothing, it's for James," Sirius told her.

"I gathered as much, but what's **inside **the box?" Lily asked again.

"None of your business," Sirius said, as he walked off.

"You know," Lily said, catching up with him, he sighed, unable to get rid of her. "I was just heading up to visit James myself."

"No you weren't, you were heading towards the common room! Don't lie to me! I can tell between lies and truth okay, I've been told enough of both," Sirius said, getting frustrated.

"Well, I was only going up because I had nothing to do, but visiting James sounds much more fun," Lily said.

"Again with the lies. I don't even care, but when I go, I need to speak with him alone. It's important. You don't need to know," Sirius said. He was still trying to hide the box from Lily's sight, as if she could see through boxes.

The two of them reached the Hospital Wing and walked inside to see James Potter. Madam Pomfrey peeked her head out from around her office. She gave them a look that said, you better behave. And then she looked a little harder at Lily before saying:

"You again! I just got rid of you! You can leave!"

"I knew you were a liar," Sirius said. Lily glared at him.

"But Madam Pomfrey, you see, Sirius here has come bearing news and a box, and I'm only here to help distribute. I need to help Sirius tell James this news and I absolutely **have **to be there when he opens the box," Lily said innocently.

"Madam Pomfrey, it would mean a lot to me if James and I could just have a moment. **Without** Lily," Sirius said and looked at Lily.

"You heard him, out!" Madam Pomfrey said, slightly pleased. As soon as Madam Pomfrey and Lily were out of the vicinity, Sirius pulled the curtains around James' hospital bed. Madam Pomfrey went straight back into her office, and Lily, being as sneaky as possible, crept along the beds until she was just outside James'. She was covered by the curtain, so Madam Pomfrey wouldn't be able to see her unless she came out of her office.

Lily was extremely quiet, she had to be otherwise Sirius would know that Lily was there and stop telling James. That would be the worst. Lily wasn't trying to be a snoop; she just wanted to know what was going on. If there were secrets involved with the two of them, it couldn't have been good.

"Listen, I think you should open the box first. Then I can explain," Sirius said. There was some silence; Lily guessed James just looked at Sirius confused. Then she heard the sound of the box being ripped open. Again there was silence. She faintly heard something being lifted out of the box. She heard the tissue paper ruffling.

"Sirius, what's going on?" James said, his voice sounded very confused, but that he might have an idea of what was coming.

"James, I'm sure you know better than I do what those are. Those are your mother's favorite pearls, the diamond bracelet your father bought her for their anniversary, and her wedding ring. Before I can begin to explain, I think you need to go through the rest of the box," Sirius told her. Lily was lost beyond belief. So inside the box was Mrs. Potter's favorite jewelry? Why would Sirius be keeping that a secret? She heard the tissue paper ruffle some more as James dug deeper into the box, looking for whatever else was in there. He must have pulled something else out, because they were both suddenly quiet again. "And I know that you know what that is. Your dad's watch," Sirius said, sternly. His voice seemed, different. Maybe like he was going to cry.

"Sirius, why do you have these?" James asked. But he knew the answer already. The way he said it, you could just tell. And you could tell the answer was going to hurt. But James needed his suspicions confirmed before he went off making assumptions. That's how James was.

"James, your parents, they well…they were in an accident last night," Sirius said. "They were out visiting your Aunt Jenny and Uncle Phil. They went out on a romantic walk, but when they crossed the street, a car came barreling down the street, ran the red light, and hit your parents and drove off. They were taken to a muggle hospital and the…polace? I think that's what they called them, well they said that your parents were hit by a drunk driver most likely. Of course, your parents had no idea what any of this meant. Neither do I, but it was bad. Your parents are still residing in the muggle hospital in London. I was the first to hear about it. Dumbledore told me. James, I know it's hard, but if you look on the bright side, they are alive. Smile!" Sirius told him. She heard shuffling and then Sirius say: "Well, I've got to go back to Dumbledore, he's arranging for you to visit your parents when you're well again." Silence. Lily heard Sirius coming around to leave the hospital wing. Lily didn't have enough time to pick out a hiding spot, so she dove underneath a bed. Sirius walked right on by without saying a word. He left James to wallow alone. Lily knew that she would rather have been alone if it were her in the circumstance, but she thought James would have liked company. She walked around the curtain and stepped inside. She saw James looking out the window. He appeared deep in thought.

"Hear it all?" James said quietly.

"If I would have known it was something personal like that, I wouldn't have…I mean, I'm so sorry," Lily said. She felt awful for eavesdropping.

"Yeah, well so am I."

"Are you mad at me?" Lily asked.

"I should be, I mean, Sirius told you how many times it was a matter between the two of us, and instead you disobey him and Madam Pomfrey and listen to everything," James said. He was disappointed in her, she could tell by his tone of voice.

"James, I feel awful. I should have listened. But, I think that I can make it up to you," Lily said.

"Really? How? How are you going to make up for some idiot who doesn't know how to drive? How are you going to make up for my parents being half dead in a muggle hospital listening to what's happened to them by some idiot polace man? How are you going to explain to them what really happened?" James asked.

"Well, I…I've got something, but you're going to have to wait. I mean, you're in the hospital wing at the moment, so that doesn't help. But I promise, I'll try and make it up to you," Lily said. "And for future reference, it's **police, **not polace."

James gave a small chuckle, but then grabbed his side. It still hurt him to laugh. Lily pulled up a chair beside James' bed and sat down. She noticed the box sitting on his bedside table. "May I have a look?" She said and motioned to the box. "You would think that they wouldn't send you important stuff like this unless they had passed, wouldn't you think?" Lily asked.

"That's what I thought had happened, but apparently they're still living. So that's good news. But I mean, those are my parent's favorite jewelry items. They were probably wearing them on their way to my aunt and uncle's house and they had been in the way at the hospital," James suggested. Lily nodded as she examined the jewelry. The pearls looked brand new, although Lily was certain they weren't. His mother just took really good care of them. She switched over to his father's watch which was exquisite. She had never seen anything like it. It had several hands and no numbers, yet she was positive that Mr. Potter could read it with ease. She switched over to the diamond bracelet that Mr. Potter had given Mrs. Potter for an anniversary one year. It was beautiful. It wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. It was perfect for Mrs. Potter, Lily thought. Then she realized, she had never met Mrs. Potter, how would she know? She just did. It was a feeling that she was sure was right. The very last item, was Mrs. Potter's wedding ring. Lily thought it was the best of everything she had looked at. She felt like she had been looking at it for ages, and didn't want to seem like she wanted to steal it, so she put it with the others, without getting a good look at it. She wanted to look at it more, but knew she couldn't. She didn't want to seem rude. She handed the box back to James who set it back on his bedside table.

"I'm tired, I think I'm going to take a nap," James said.

"Alright," Lily said, but she didn't move. She just sat in her chair next to James' bed. He was confused, but was too tired to care. He fell asleep right away. His hand was hanging over the edge, so Lily picked it up to set it back on the bed, but then found that she didn't want to let it go. She held his hand and fell asleep herself.

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James awoke in the middle of the night to find Lily's hand and his hand entwined. He felt weird. He didn't like girls yet! He couldn't believe that he and Lily Evans had been holding hands for who knew how long! But then he found, that it didn't bother him as much as he thought it did.

He let it be and fell asleep again.

"WHAT IS THIS?!?!?!?!" James heard early that next morning. He opened his eyes to see Lily still sleeping in the chair holding his hand and Madam Pomfrey standing with the curtain ripped open, appalled at what lay in front of her. Lily was starting to stir as Madam Pomfrey's chest heaved as she was so enraged at what had happened. Lily turned around to see Madam Pomfrey looking like a mass murderer. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was wearing a nightgown and some sort of bonnet type hat which was falling off. Underneath her "bonnet" her hair was in curlers. She was upset, and Lily could tell, for at that moment she had let go of James' hand and jumped out of the chair and ran for the door. Madam Pomfrey was too quick for her though. She had pulled her wand out and slammed the door in Lily's face. Lily turned around to face Madam Pomfrey, even though there was at least ten feet in between them.

"I SPECIFICALLY TOLD YOU TO LEAVE WHEN MR. BLACK ARRIVED. THAT DID NOT GIVE YOU LICENSE TO COME BACK WHEN HE LEFT. MR. POTTER NEEDS HIS REST. I'M SURE THE TWO OF YOU WERE UP ALL NIGHT THANKS TO MS. EVANS! GO! TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE! **NOW!!**" Madam Pomfrey yelled. Lily had never seen her so mad before. She was a tad afraid and then sprinted out the door and ran. Suddenly she realized she needed to be running to the Headmaster's office, wherever that was. She had never been sent there before. She had never been in trouble before. She was starting to hyperventilate. There was just so much happening at once for her. It was all just too much. And to top it all off, hundreds of kids were running through the halls trying to get to class on time. Lily was starting to feel lightheaded. Everything started getting blurry and the next thing Lily knew, she was falling to the floor, and she banged her head on the stone floor of the castle before she passed out.

Lily Evans had awoken in the hospital wing once again, except this time she was lying in a hospital bed. The very bed next to James Potter. He was laying there looking at her, waiting for her to wake up. He had heard the story of how she ended up there from the Headmaster, who had followed her as she raced out of the hospital wing. He thought something was curiously not right, and followed her until she had hit her head and passed out. Poor Lily, James thought. She was under so much stress because James had been stupid and hurt himself flying. Then he started blaming himself for all of Lily's troubles.

_If I hadn't fallen off my broom, I wouldn't be in the hospital wing. If I wasn't in the hospital wing, I would have been able to see my parents, so Lily wouldn't have had to come up and torture me, and she wouldn't have had to come up to see what Sirius was up to, because I would have already known. She wouldn't have had to find out about my parents, and she wouldn't have had to stay the night with me and get in trouble. She wouldn't have been screamed at by Madam Pomfrey and she wouldn't have had to race out of the hospital wing and get trampled on by hundreds of kids. She wouldn't have passed out and she wouldn't be laying next to me now in the hospital bed. I should have been more careful on my broom. What was I thinking. And now, I won't make the Quidditch team because I fell at try-outs. If I can't stay on my broom during try-outs, why would I be able to during a game? Why am I so stupid?! _James thought to himself, but then he remembered. _It wasn't my fault, it was Monroe's fault! He told me to keep flying when the storm was coming! It's his fault that I'm even in here! I wonder if he's even come to visit me. It doesn't matter, what matters is that I've not only hurt myself, I've hurt others, and I need to fix that. _

Lily stirred and woke up to see herself in the hospital wing next to James Potter. What had she done now? Had Madam Pomfrey chased after her, knocked her out to bring her here so she could torture her? Probably not, Lily had probably ran into someone who knocked her down and she probably hit her head which knocked her out and a kind soul had helped her up to the hospital wing. She felt stupid. She shouldn't be so overworked, she hadn't done anything worth being overworked. She felt like an idiot. And especially in front of James. She always felt dumb next to James. Which didn't make a lot of sense because she was great at school and James…well he wasn't. But she knew he was smart. He had great smarts, he just chose not to use them. He used them when he wanted to. Secretly. And you never knew when he was going to use them. And that's what frightened Lily. That she would try being her smart self all the time and it would blow up in her face and James would be there to mock her with his hidden smarts.

"You okay?" James asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little woozy. What about you?" Lily asked, though she couldn't remember why he was in the hospital.

"Fine, I should be out of here today, but Madam Pomfrey insists on keeping me in for another day," James told her.

"Why are you in here again?" Lily said sitting up and rubbing the back of her head.

"Falling off my broom. Remember? I was at Quiddtich try-outs and the storm hit and I fell off my broom. You helped me up here," James said, a little afraid. Why didn't she remember?

"What? Brooms? Up in the air? And what's Quidditch?" Lily asked. She was so confused.

"Lily…what's wrong with you? You're acting really strange, like you don't know what's going on," James told her.

"I know exactly what's going on. I'm Lily Evans, I just turned twelve in August and I just don't know where I am. It's unfamiliar. I've never been here before," Lily said.

"Lily, you live here. Most of the year anyway. We're at Hogwarts, you know, your school. Where you live most of the year, except for the summer holidays?" James asked her, she was acting really strange.

"What do you mean? I live in London with my parents and Petunia. Who are you? You're wrong," Lily tried telling James. But it was she that was wrong.

"Professor Dumbledore, we have a serious problem!" James yelled. The headmaster and Madam Pomfrey came rushing to James. 

"What is it Mr. Potter?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"It's Lily, she doesn't remember anything about Hogwarts. She remembers all her muggle family and things like that, but she doesn't know what Hogwarts is, or Quidditch, or even who I am. Professor, I'm worried," James said. He got out of bed to sit beside Lily. Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore stood on her other side and examined her.

It was all James could do, not to worry about her.

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**Well I'm going to stop here. I know it's fairly short, but I've been writing more on Born to Be. There's 1 review and two chapters. I know not much, but that's because I got caught up in this one. But I would really appreciate it if you went to check it out. I hope you'd like to think it's as good as this one, because you guys really seem to like this one…and I'm all for that. So keep reviewing this one and please check out Born to Be. It's about Harry, Ron, and Hermione and a few new obstacles. I hate trying to explain it because when I try to, I don't want to give it away, but that would be the summary…anyway, it's pretty good I think, so go check it out. And I'm going to apologize again for taking so long with this chapter. Exams, volleyball conditioning…it sucks. But I'm going to be a little slower with these chapters. I'm busier during the summer than during the school year. I'll have volleyball conditioning every other day, camps, cedar point (Tuesday!!!!), colorguard practice, flute practicing, but luckily, I'm not testing out of any subjects this year. So I'm a fairly busy girl, plus, I'm going to need time with Ryannnnn. Soooooo I love you all. And yeah. :))**


	10. 2: Nuggets of Wisdom

**Well, another cliffhanger. I'm terribly sorry about it too. But I can't help it. I love writing cliffhangers. And now you will all see what has happened to our dear twelve-year-old Lily Evans. And here we goooooo! Oh and just a head's up, I know waaaaaaaay back when I gave James these amazing blue eyes, but I've decided to keep them hazel because, what's James without his hazel eyes? K thanks.**

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Lily was very confused. She was lying in a bed in a room she had never seen before, and she was surrounded by people she had never met, but seemed to know a little about her. There was a boy who looked about the same age as her with messy black hair and hazel eyes. Then there was a woman who looked…extremely odd. Scary almost. Her eyes were bloodshot, she had been wearing a nightgown, and her hair was in curlers underneath a bonnet that was falling off. She was bustling about trying to help Lily it seemed. She must have been the doctor. Then there was a man who looked very old. He had silver hair that was down to his waist with a matching beard. He wore half moon spectacles and he had a very crooked nose. And then there was one more, older woman. She had black hair that was pulled into a very tight bun. She wore emerald robes and a black, pointed hat. She wore glasses, and she was aging slowly. Who were these random people? And what had happened to her?

All of a sudden, the door to the hospital opened. In came three young men, all of the same age. The first boy had dark hair that was very long and mangy, in which his face was hidden behind. He wasn't extremely tall, but you could tell he was getting there. And he wasn't gangly like most twelve year olds, he was fairly well built. Next to him was a boy, just short of the first boy. He was very pale and sickly looking. He had dark hair that he was growing out somewhat, and it looked like he was trying to hide his face. When Lily got a better look, she could see why he was hiding it. There were scratches all over his face. The third boy, was the shortest of the three. He was short and stout. He was a pudgy little boy. His face looked like a rat's, but Lily would never say that to his face. He wasn't next to the other two boys, he was behind them. He was a hanger on. By the looks of it, the other two boys didn't want to be associated with the pudgy, rat-looking boy. Then the thought occurred to Lily: Why are they here? Are they here to see me too? But just then, they walked passed her after giving a wave and went to the bed next to the boy with messy hair.

"Hey James, how you feeling?" The first boy asked softly. He didn't try paling around with James like friends usually would.

"I'm feeling alright, I think I might go visit my parents soon, but first I have to make sure Lily's okay. She's bumped her head on the stone floor and can't remember anything about Hogwarts and her magic life," James said.

"Magic?!" Lily said. It was the first time Lily had spoken in awhile. She wasn't sure what was going on. "Will someone tell me what's going on?"

"Lily, you have no idea where you are, who we are, or what has gone on in the past year?" The old man asked.

"No, I really don't. I can't remember anything that's happened in the past year, but I do know that I have turned twelve. Don't ask me how, but I do know,"

"Well, before I inform you of what has happened, or try to get your memory back, I feel it is important that I introduce myself and these others. My name, is Professor Dumbledore, I am the Headmaster of the magical school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This here is my co-worker, and the Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, who incidentally is your Head of House. She is responsible over the Gryffindor house, which you are a part of. It is a small section of Hogwarts. The nice lady bustling about and feeding you potions, is Madam Pomfrey, and she is our Head Nurse. And these young fellows are your friends, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. These three are here to visit James because James had fallen off his broom in a magical game called Quidditch. But I believe they were coming to see if he was emotionally alright because his parents were in a terrible accident when a drunk driver hit his parents as they were crossing the road," Dumbledore explained.

"How awful, I'm terribly sorry!" Lily had said to James.

"Thank you, I think I'm going to visit them soon, Professor, I would like to leave as soon as possible if that would be alright?" James asked.

"Of course Mr. Potter. Whatever you wish," Professor Dumbledore answered. He was a kind man. "Well, I think that's enough information at the moment, but in order to restore her memory, I think we'll have to take her around the grounds and through the school. You know, to get her to remember where she goes everyday, how to get to class. And I think she should be reminded of great, fun memories with her friends, or even bad memories, something that would trigger her memory. That's how the muggles do it. If it works for them, it should work for us. I'll leave you four to help her with that, and if you could, ask her dear friends, Julia and Megan if they could help. Thank you gentlemen, and this doesn't need to start until tomorrow. You will be excused from all classes for this. Good day,"

"Alright! Excused from classes to show Lily around!" Sirius said and high-fived his friends.

"I really hope her memory comes back soon," Remus said.

"Me too, Remus, me too." James said.

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James wasted no time in trying to restore Lily's memory. It was all his fault and he had to make things right. Especially because she had been there for him when he was having problems at home. She was there for him, and now, he was going to be there for her.

He had gotten her out of bed and they made their way up to the Gryffindor common room. Everyone was in classes for the rest of the day. Everyone that is except for James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, Julia, and Megan. They were exceptions because they wanted to help as well. James suspected that Sirius and Peter were just looking to get out of class, but it didn't matter. James did not want to be alone with a bunch of girls that he'd never really liked too well.

"And this is the common room. This is where the boys and girls of Gryffindor can study, or relax, or pretty much do whatever. We don't have a certain time that we need to be in bed or anything, so people usually study for hours on end out here. And when boys and girls want to hang out, this is where they do it. Boys aren't allowed in the girl's dormitories. The stairs turn into a slide. But girls are allowed into the boy's dormitory for some reason…anyway, this is where we spend most of our time," James was explaining. Lily still looked confused.

"We'll take it from here," Julia said as they started heading towards the girl's dormitory. "We'll be back. We're sure to meet some other friends that might trigger her memory." The three girls went the stairs and disappeared behind a stone wall.

"Isn't this great? We have no classes until Lily's memory comes back!" Sirius said, once everyone was out of earshot. James slapped his stomach. Sirius doubled over. "What was that for?!"

"Do you really think it's great? Lily has no memory of anything about her life! How would you feel?" James asked.

"Well, to be fair, she remembers about her life, just not the magical part," Sirius said.

"The most important part, don't you think? And I think she can't remember that because she's spent eleven years living in the muggle world, so it kind of stuck. But she's only spent one year in the magical world, so it hasn't been fully stuck into her brain. And I'm sure she did plenty of muggle things over summer holidays. That can't help, and maybe she's still thinking that this whole magic thing is too surreal to be real. Maybe she thinks it's all a dream or something. It's awful is what it is," James went on. He was still feeling bad for being the cause of her problem.

"I'm with James," Remus said. He went to stand by James who was standing opposite Sirius. This was a huge thing for these boys. They had never really been in a fight before. Except when Sirius was dating Lily, but that wasn't real, and it wasn't a real fight. Sirius and James were close. Like cousins. Everyone looked at Peter. They were waiting for his decision. He had to choose a side. This put Peter on a huge spot. He wasn't good with pressure. He was terrible under it, actually. He looked nervously from Sirius to James and Remus. He really didn't know. He ended up running up the stairs to the boy's dormitory and stayed there.

"He won't be joining us tomorrow," James muttered.

"Yeah, and neither will I," Sirius said.

"What, going to pass up the opportunity to skip class? That's the whole reason we were just fighting!"

"Yeah? Well maybe I'd rather sit in class and pretend to learn then stay with you and go for another tour around the school with Dumbfounded Lily," Sirius yelled.

James went off. He sprung out at Sirius. He sat on top of him and started punching him. Remus had tried to get them off each other, but it was no use. Remus wasn't strong enough to, but no one could get them to stop. He stood there and watched with horror. They started beating the crap out of each other. When they finally came to an end, they looked up at Remus and his expression. His face was very solemn. He was disappointed.

"You two need to stick together. You're too close to be doing things like this. I'm appalled that you would get to the point where you're beating each other senseless. There is a poor innocent girl upstairs who's trying to understand why she can't remember anything and one of you is trying to take advantage of her, and the other is way too protective unless something was up. You don't have to tell me why, I honestly don't need to know. Keep it to yourselves, but until you two can work out your differences and fix Lily's problem, I'll be joining Peter," Remus said and stomped up the stairs leading to the boy's dormitory. Sirius and James looked at each other sadly. What had they done? They were tearing their friends apart. They needed to reconcile before things got out of hand. They had helped each other up, and then whipped their wands out to clean up the little bit of blood that was spilt before the girls came back down. If they knew what had happened….

Just then, Lily, Julia, and Megan had made their way down the stairs. It had taken around ten minutes, but before they had made it to the bottom stair, James knew that her memory was still lost, floating around in space somewhere. He felt bad. He couldn't even talk to her anymore. Sure he could give the tour, but that wasn't talking to her. He wanted to talk to her like he would if she was the same Lily. But she wasn't the same Lily. She was different, and awkward. He felt like anything he said to her went in one ear and out the other. It wasn't making a difference. He missed the old Lily. The one who would listen to his problems and try to make them better. Then he realized that he hadn't thought about his parents one bit since Lily's accident. Then he silently wished that she could keep this up until Christmas break, because then he wouldn't have to think of the state his parents were in, and he'd be able to see them.

The time had come for the tour to end for the night, because curfew was approaching. Lily hadn't made any progress. She was still clueless. But on the plus side, she could remember everyone's names. That was a start. If only she knew the name and remembered why they were her friends. Lily had followed Julia and Megan back up to the girl's dormitory because she couldn't remember the way back. She walked down the hallway and passed a few girls who looked at her sympathetically. Lily couldn't really understand why. She didn't feel bad or anything. All of a sudden she ran into a girl at least a year older than her.

"Oops! Sorry, I'm such a klutz! Lily Evans! I'm so sorry! I should have been watching where I was going!" She apologized over and over.

"It's really alright, what's your name?" Lily asked.

"Oh, that's right, you don't remember me, well, we never really officially met anyway, but I'm Alice," She said. She was very careful, but it didn't help because she was always tripping and falling all over the place. At least she wasn't shy. Alice was a third year and one of the top students in her class. Lily had climbed into her bed, although, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like her bed. She had slept in it for over a year, but to her, it felt like the first time. She hated it. She silently wept throughout the night.

She took a small break, she tried to stop crying, she needed a glass of water, but didn't know where to get one. She certainly didn't want to wake one of her "friends" because then they'd realize that she'd been crying, or they'd be upset that she had woken them up for something stupid like water. Then she wondered if she could even get water. She was sure there was a spell for that. Maybe she had learned it. She sat in silence for a moment while racking her brain for the water spell. But then she heard someone climb out of bed and she heard a floorboard creak. Someone was leaving. Lily climbed out and followed them. It turned out to be Julia, her friend. She went down to the common room, which was empty. It must have been late because not only was it empty, the embers in the fire were only faintly glowing. Julia mumbled something and the fire suddenly got bigger, letting light shine onto the room. Julia turned and saw Lily.

"Something wrong? Do you need something?" Julia asked, sounding genuinely concerned, almost like a mother.

"No, I'm alright, just couldn't sleep," Lily replied.

"I know what you mean. Do you want something?"

"Like what? What can you get at this hour?"

"I can get you water, and that's about it," Julia said and lightly giggled. Lily gave a small chuckle as well.

"I guess I'll have a water then,"

"Shoot, I don't have a glass. Well, I guess I can't get you anything, I'm sorry," Julia said.

"It's fine. I really don't mind. Why can't you sleep?"

"You want to know the truth? And promise not to tell anyone? Not even Megan?" Julia asked.

"I promise,"

"I've been up all night, every night. Because of a boy. I know, stupid right, but you know, I've always had a crush on him. Well, I guess I shouldn't say always, because I've only known him a year, but, ever since we first met, I feel like we had a connection. I know this probably sounds stupid, but whatever. It's just, it was torture this summer without him. And now, we're both back and it's like heaven on Earth, except for the fact that he doesn't even acknowledge me,"

"Doesn't sound like he's worth it then, to me anyway," Lily replied. She may not know who this character was, but if he didn't even know her, then what's the point.

"Yeah, but it's just I've always wanted a Romeo and Juliet kind of romance, and I think that's what I could have with him. You know?" Julia asked.

"Can I be totally honest with you and you promise you won't get mad?"

"Yes, I swear it," Julia promised and held her right hand in the air. Lily had been informed that Julia was what they called a muggle. A person with non-magical parents, just like Lily. That's where the reference from Romeo and Juliet came from. Lily knew that she could click better with Julia than the others, because she was the only one that was muggle born. Well, she was the only one that Lily knew of.

"I hate how everyone compares love to Romeo and Juliet. No offense. Did you ever read the play? The two met for a few minutes, started getting it on a few hours later on a balcony, and got married three days later. Three days! Keep in mind they hardly spoke, then got married, did the "big deed", and long story short - they died. They were lust. I bet Juliet didn't even know Romeo's favorite color. Much less his birthday. I wouldn't want a relationship like that. I would want one where I know everything about him, that I know it's more important than looks. What was so special about the Romeo and Juliet romance that makes you want one like it so bad when if you think about it, really, it's just a crappy, fake, love story that people fall for every time, but if people saw it for what it really was, I don't think people would want a romance like that. You get what I'm saying?" Lily finished.

Julia took a minute, but then she nodded. "You know what, you're right. Well, I won't refer to my love for him in that sense anymore. But, I swear we were meant to be together. I know it."

"Well, I hope it works out for you then, but can I ask one more thing?" Lily asked.

"I guess so," Julia replied.

"Who is this mysterious guy?"

"Sirius Black." Julia replied with a smile. Lily walked back up the stairs to go back to bed. She knew that her good friend Julia should feel so sappy over Sirius Black. He wasn't worth it. Lily didn't remember too much about him, but he rubbed her in a way that she didn't like at all. She liked him the least of the quartet.

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Lily lie in bed for a little while longer when she heard Julia come back to bed. She waited what she thought felt like fifteen minutes before creeping back downstairs. She was past the point of sleeping. She needed to think and what better place to do it than the place where people go to study. Lily would much rather think in the library, but she was positive it was closed by now and she'd rather be in a quiet room that was empty, than a quiet room that was full. She curled up on the couch and stared at the fire. It's all she could do. She thought of her friends and family back home. Bella and Nathan. She remembered spending the summer with Bella, and a day with Nathan. She felt bad because she remembered ditching him for something….And then there was Petunia. She hated Lily. And Lily really didn't know why. She didn't think that the old her knew why either, which made it that much harder. Sisters aren't supposed to hate each other. That was against nature. Why was Petunia so angry with Lily? It didn't make sense to her, but then, hardly anything did anymore, so why try?

Just then, Lily heard footsteps come from the staircase opposite the ones she came down. She knew that those steps lead to the boy's dormitory, which means a boy was coming down to the common room for some unknown reason. When Lily looked, it was James Potter.

"Hello," Lily said quietly.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

"Nope. I don't really know why either. I'm just thinking," She told him. She felt like she could be totally open and honest with him, which scared her a little bit. Why would she feel open with a boy? She was only twelve. Boys still had cooties didn't they? Maybe not. Not this one anyway. Maybe before the accident he was one of her best friends? Yeah, that had to be it. Why else would she feel open to him? Maybe part of her memory was coming back by talking openly with him.

"Can I tell you something?" He said suddenly.

"I suppose so, is it bad?" Lily asked. Then realized, she never asked Julia that.

"Well, sort of. Me and Sirius got into another fight today," James confessed.

"Again?" Lily asked, confused. They were such good friends, she didn't think they would ever get into a serious fight. Especially one that included using fists.

"That's right, you don't remember. Well last year, we got into a pretty big one, over you actually. It was stupid. Anyway, we got in a fight, over you again actually. It was pretty bad, and we haven't really made up yet. We pretended to for Remus' sake, but we haven't really made up. I've been up all night thinking if a made the right choice in choosing him as a friend. He gets me into all sorts of trouble, but it is fun, I can't deny that. I just don't know what to do; I don't even know what to think right now. My brain is killing me," James explained.

Lily sat there in silence, she was contemplating telling him what she thought, and taking in the information about their first fight. It was over her, why couldn't she just remember? Why was it so hard for her to remember her entire life? She couldn't remember, and then decided to tell him what she thought about his situation.

"You know what I think? Actually, I don't think this, I know this. There's a point in your life when you know who stays forever and who's just around for a while. People change, but so do you; sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Bad things happen to everyone; you're not in it alone. People lie and some people just don't care how you feel. Your heart beats no matter how much pain you're in. Everything will be okay eventually. There are always people in your life that just make your day no matter the miles. I know all about distance; I've been dealing with it all my life, so don't tell me it's easy but it's worth it. I'd rather stay in touch with the people I love than just drop it and forget about it. You don't forget about the ones you love, it doesn't work that way. Give it all you got, and live your life to the fullest. People would kill to have what you have. Someone always has it worse off than you, but that doesn't mean your pain doesn't count. Because it does. Those people that make your day, and who love you, those boys were down here earlier. And even though you may get into fights all the time, that's what tests your friendship. But in the end, when you reconcile, that's the answer. That's proof that you can pass that test. The fact that you stay together is all that matters. Even if you fight over something stupid, which I'm guessing is what usually happens because you're teenage boys. What else would you be fighting about? Anyway, take that into consideration tonight. And remember it the next time you and Sirius fight. Take it to heart, and remember it always. I'm off to bed," Lily said and got up and walked towards the stairs. Before climbing though, James had called her, and she turned around.

"Lily? When did you suddenly become so full of wisdom? I mean, I remember asking for some and you really couldn't help me, and all you could give me was that you cared. Now all of a sudden you're spouting off like you can't stop. Where's all this coming from?"

"My heart. I think the fact that I don't know what's going on is giving my heart power over my mind. I think that my heart remembers what's going on, even if my head doesn't. Maybe my heart had all this wisdom before, but my head was being to thick-headed to let my heart speak for once. I think that's where it's all coming from," Lily answered.

"Well, tell you're heart to overpower your mind more often. I like it," James told her with a smile. Then Lily turned around and climbed the stairs once more, for the final time that night. She climbed into bed and fell asleep for the first time that night.

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The next morning, Lily awoke with a start. The light was pouring into the room. The room was empty. Lily knew that she shouldn't have slept so late. Her new friends would be waiting down in the common room for her to finish giving her the tour. They'd probably been waiting for hours. Lily had taken her sweet time sleeping in as long as she felt like it. She rushed into the bathroom and changed her clothes into her school uniform, even though she knew she wasn't going to any classes today. She felt that she should wear her uniform when in the school, whether she was going to classes or not. Not on the weekends of course, but on a school day, she felt obligated to wear it. Her friends must have felt the same way, because they had been dressed in their uniforms as well the day before.

Lily had changed and brushed her hair and teeth and was grabbing her back off her bed. She was rushing so much that when she had made it to the stairs, she hadn't realized that her shoe wasn't completely tied all the way, and, being the klutz she was, tripped on her shoelace and fell down the stone steps.

The noise was heard by the group of students down in the common room. They heard something falling down the stairs and rushed to see what it was. When they saw, they got a nasty shock. It was Lily Evans at the bottom of the stairs unconscious.

"Lily! Lily wake up!" James was saying as he was gently tapping her face. "Come on, let's get her to the Hospital Wing. I don't want permanent damage done because we haven't been keeping a watchful eye on her, when we really have been." James scooped Lily up into his arms and carried her down to the Hospital Wing followed by Julia, Megan, Remus, and even Sirius and Peter. Sirius and Peter had showed up when they heard Lily fall down the stairs and feeling awful, decided to go drop her off with them. They had to make sure she was okay. She was their friend too.

After about an hour, Lily finally woke up. Madam Pomfrey was furious of course, but that was to be expected. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had showed up too. They were upset, but realized that this couldn't have been helped. When Lily woke up an hour later, she was surrounded by a lot of people. She was confused.

"What time is it?" Was the first thing she asked.

"Eleven twenty-two. Why?" Megan asked.

"Eleven twenty-two?! I'm late!" Lily screeched and jumped out of bed.

"Late for what?" Dumbledore asked.

"Class! I've already missed History of Magic and Charms. I've got to get to Herbology!"

"Wait, you actually know your schedule now?" James asked, very confused.

"What are you talking about? What happened yesterday? And the day before, because I seem to be so out of it, that I don't even remember," Lily asked. The lot of them explained what had happened to her for the past two days and why she couldn't remember. She was shocked. Not only about the situation, but she was shocked that she had missed two days of school. She was worried about not being able to catch up and she would miss a few things on her final exams. She felt horrible. But then when she was calmed down, she realized it wasn't so bad. And at least she had such good friends that would take care of her when she needed them most. They all got in for a big group hug.

They all stayed for awhile, but Madam Pomfrey wanted everyone out. Lily needed her rest. She was going to need to get to class tomorrow unless she wanted to spend more time out of class and more time in the hospital. She certainly didn't want that. Nobody ever wanted that.

"Madam Pomfrey? Would it be alright if I had one visitor for the night? I mean, it gets so lonely, and I would like some company," Lily practically begged. Lily was such a teacher's pet that she could charm any teacher. James was the only student left in the hospital wing at that point so he stayed.

"Well aren't I lucky?" Lily asked.

"Well obviously, I mean, you know me. That's luck. Or were you referring to the fact that I'm the best friend you could have ever asked for?" James asked sarcastically.

"I was referring to the second one. And the fact that I have company. But I really do want to thank you so much. I mean, I was told that you were the person who helped out most with my…situation. You took responsibility. Thank you so much," Lily told him.

"Well, I felt like I had to. It was my fault," James confessed.

"How do you figure?"

"Because if I hadn't gotten hurt on my broom, I wouldn't have been in the hospital wing. If I hadn't been in the hospital wing, then you wouldn't have had to investigate in the box. If you hadn't done that, you wouldn't have fallen asleep in the wing with me, and Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have chased you out of the wing and you wouldn't have fallen and forgotten everything. I felt like it was all my fault. And I'm terribly sorry," James apologized.

"That's not really what bothers me right now. I'm mostly worried that I'll fail my exams now because I missed so much school," Lily told him.

"You missed two days, you'll be fine. I promise," James promised her.

"How do you know?"

"So what if you fail? Be bad at things. Be embarrassed. Be afraid. Be vulnerable. Go out on a limb or two or twelve, and you will fall, and it'll hurt. I'm sure of it. But the harder you fall, the farther you will rise. And the louder you fall, the clearer your future becomes. Failure is a gift, so welcome it. There are people who spend their whole lives wondering how they became the people they became, how certain chances pass them by, and why they didn't take the roads less traveled. Those people aren't you. You have front row seats to your own transformation, and in transforming yourself, you might even transform the world. And it will be electric, and I promise it will be terrifying. Embrace that; embrace the new person you're becoming. This is your moment. I promise you, it is now, now, not two minutes from now, not tomorrow, but right now. Own that; know that deep in your bones, and go to sleep every night knowing that, wake up every morning remembering that, and then…keep going. That's all you need to succeed and fail. It'll be fine. I promise you," James told him and grabbed her hand. Lily felt much more reassured with James by her side.

"Thank you," was all Lily could manage. And then, some kid came into the hospital wing looking for James. He was carrying a piece of parchment and he handed it to James who took it and took no more notice of it. "Read it."

James opened up the parchment which had been from Monroe. It said that James had been accepted on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. James was speechless. He was so excited he couldn't hold it in. He jumped up and down and then he accidentally kissed Lily. It caught them both off guard. He really didn't mean to do that.

"Oh, I mean, that was, I didn't mean to…" James said, turning bright red. Lily was also turning the shade of her hair.

"Congratulations James. I'll be sure to go to every game," Lily said and smiled. The kiss meant nothing. It was in the heat of the moment. And they both understood that. Besides, they were only twelve. It meant nothing. And they were both okay with that.

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**Okay. So that was longer than expected. I really just went with it. I really don't even know how good it is so I hope you all will leave tons of reviews. Thank you and I hope its good and I hope that you don't hate it and tell me if you like the longer ones or shorter ones better. **

**Thanks!**


	11. 2: Severus Snape

**Ok new change. Birthdays. If we've read harry potter 7 we know that Lily's birthday is Jan. 30 and James's is March 27. Ok well that chapter was….i'm not sure. I kinda liked it but I'm not sure. Sorry I've been taking my sweet old time. It's just that I'm super busy during the summer time. More so than any other time during the year. Just got back from camp which was very dramatic so maybe I can use that to an advantage and put it in here, huh? Alrighttt. OH AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS!!!! KEEP THEM COMING!!!!**

**Year Two.**

**Chapter Eleven.**

**-----**

The months after passed by with ease. Lily and James forgetting their little kiss because James had been too caught up into his Quidditch. He was really quite good at it. There was never a time when he couldn't catch the snitch. He had to tell his friends about what happened after they left the hospital wing, so he told them how he made the Quidditch team, but left out the little part where he earned a victory kiss. The other guys would just laugh at him. He tried to push it far from his mind. Boys don't usually like girls at twelve. He was just trying to have some fun with his buddies, that's all. But Lily kept getting in the way. Sometimes his mind would just wander right on back to Lily for some odd reason. He would think about how they laugh when they're together and how much fun they really could have if they tried to have fun. But really, all they ever do is sit and talk. James thought if she really got out and they took her on one of the adventures he so frequently went on, that she would have a good time, and he would have a good time being with her. But for now, he had to focus on his Quidditch and his school work (yeah right), and leaving time open to plot adventures not only at Hogwarts, but at each other's houses over holidays.

That was another thing that was bothering James. His parents. It was nearing the end of November and he still hadn't gone to visit his parents in the hospital. Dumbledore had told him that Mrs. Potter will be alright, that she just has two broken legs and a broken arm. But Mr. Potter would never be able to walk again. They were both still residing in a muggle hospital, and James had not yet had the opportunity to leave the castle to go see them. Dumbledore said he would gladly take James over Christmas holidays because James would have to stay at the castle anyway. James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter had discussed this partially. They had all volunteered their houses for James to stay, because no one really wants to stay at the castle longer than they have to.

"Mate, I love you to death, but my house, though I'm offering it, may not be the one you want to stay at. With my parents how they are and Regulus all excited because he's going to be starting school soon…it's mass chaos over there. Plus, my family hates me…" Sirius told him.

"Okay, so that rules out Sirius's house, but that still leaves mine and Peter's?" Remus said, but Remus already knew that living with him would be difficult. With Remus turning into a werewolf every once in a while, and his family being extra cautious all the time, there wouldn't be any room for having any **real** fun.

"Oh, well, my family and I are leaving for…for…Ireland. Family vacation," Peter chimed in.

"Okay, so no houses available. Unless we can find some innocent, nice, loving, caring people who would take you in for Christmas…?" Sirius said sarcastically.

"Really? I don't see what the matter is. I mean, we always go around here, looking for fun, but we always complain how we never have enough time to do it. Now's our, well my, chance! Although, it would be nicer if one of you could stay with me. I'd rather not wander through the halls alone," James asked.

"Me and Remus could do it!" Sirius said. "I mean, I don't want to go home anyway, so that leaves at least me, and Remus, you don't have to, but if you wanted to…"

"I think my family wants to see me home. Just so they know I'm alright, you know, verify for themselves. But I'll be sure to see you guys when I get back. I promise." Remus said with a half smile. Remus was too adorable.

"That really could work. And then Sirius, you could be there when I visit my parents. They've thought of you as like the other son they never had!" James told him excitedly. Sirius's pride went up a few notches. The fact that he knew that he was loved by someone, even if his parents didn't, made him feel so much better about himself.

"Alright, it's settled, me and James stay home for Christmas holidays, and Peter and Remus go home and visit. Me and James will work out some secret stuff throughout the castle and show it to you guys when you get back. And of course, there will be visiting the muggle hospital…have you ever visited one James?"

James shook his head.

"Me either, so we'll go in there like we know what we're doing, and hopefully Dumbledore **will** know what he's doing!" Sirius said as if ending a long drawn out speech.

"Here, here!" They all yelled.

-----

Lily, on the other hand, had not had it as easy as James to forget their little kiss. She did not have Quidditch, or sick parents to take her mind off it. She had tried getting involved in Julia and Megan's conversations more than usual, and they could tell there was something up. They asked her about it, and she couldn't keep a secret, she had to tell them.

"Lily, what is up? You've been trying to get into every little thing that we've been trying to do and get into every conversation. Usually you just nod a lot and jump in when you get certain ideas. You don't usually brainstorm out loud. What are you trying to do?" Megan asked. She was always more open mouthed than Julia.

"Okay, but if I tell you, you've got to promise not to tell anyone. I mean **anyone**," Lily said.

"Ohhh, this is going to be good. Okay, before we promise, let's relocate," Julia suggested. They were sitting in the library working on an assignment that wouldn't be due for three more weeks and they were already almost done. They packed up their stuff and rushed to the top floor where the Gryffindor common room is known to be. The three girls said the password and the portrait of the fat lady swung open to admit them. They rushed inside and to the right where the girl's dormitories were. They went into the door labeled with a number two on it and slammed the door. They looked around to make sure they were alone and then locked the door. Each girl plopped her stuff onto her own bed and then they gathered into a circle on the floor.

"Okay, so you promise me if I tell you that you aren't going to tell another soul for as long as you live?" Lily asked. Each girl held out her hand and outstretched both of her pinky fingers. They all grabbed pinkies and were connected into a circle and Julia and Megan both said:

"I swear."

"Okay, well, after I got my memory back, I had to stay in the hospital wing for another night. Well Madam Pomfrey let James stay and keep my company. Well, some first year came in and gave James a letter. It said that he made the Quidditch team, and, this is where it gets secretive, he kissed me. I don't know what to think or make of it. I mean, I can't stop thinking about it and him, but I mean, I'm only eleven, soon to be twelve, I'm not supposed to like boys yet, am I?"

"I don't see a problem with liking boys yet. I think this is the transition; when we start to like boys. Besides, James made the move first, so it's really his fault if it comes down to it. And anyway, he must like you, because he made that move! It's sure fire! Just go with it," Julia told her. Lily was still unsure. She went to unlock the door and changed into her pajamas. She was turning in early. She just needed to think. About James. She had thought about every other boy that she'd ever liked before. There had really only been one other guy before. Sometimes she was ashamed to admit it, but she had to. It was Severus Snape. She wasn't really sure if she had liked him, but she had felt sorry for him. And he really was a good friend, most of the time. She remembered when she first met him and how he told her about Hogwarts.

_FLASHBACK_

_Lily and Petunia were at the playground enjoying the last of the sunshine. They were all alone and on the best swings in the whole park. Lily was going as high as she could, she was going to jump. She was going to jump from the highest point on the swing. Petunia was too scared to go as high as Lily, which surprised Lily. She was nine years old and Petunia was eleven. And yet, Petunia wasn't as brave as Lily, not for anything. _

"_Lily, don't do it!" Petunia yelled. She was afraid Lily was going to hurt herself._

_But Petunia was too late. She had let go and jumped, very gracefully, from the swing. She was flying through the air, literally. She landed just as graceful on the asphalt. Like a trapeze artist landing far too lightly. _

"_Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!"_

"_But I'm fine," Lily replied, still giggling. "Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do." _

_Petunia looked around to make sure they was no one around. No one was around as far as they could tell. Lily had walked over to a bush with several flowers. She picked one up and Petunia came closer. The look on her face showed that she was split. She couldn't decide whether she was curious or upset. When Petunia was close enough, Lily put the flower into the palm of her hand and made the flower open and close its petals. _

"_Stop it!" Petunia shrieked. _

"_It's not hurting you," said Lily, but she put the flower back down on the ground. _

"_It's not right," said Petunia, and kept her eyes on the flower. "How do you do it?" She asked with longing._

"_It's obvious, isn't it?" Said a boy who popped out from behind the bush. Petunia yelled and ran back to the swings, but Lily remained planted where she was. The boy looked like he regretted popping out, but remained where he was. _

"_What's obvious?" Lily asked._

"_I know what you are," the boy lowered his voice._

_Confused, Lily asked, "What do you mean?"_

"_You're…you're a witch," he whispered. Lily's face was appalled that he would say something like that when he had never met him before. _

"_**That's **__not a very nice thing to say to somebody!" Lily yelled at him. She turned with her nose in the air and marched towards her sister. _

"_No! You __**are**__. You are a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one, and I'm a wizard." The boy said, chasing after Lily, looking like a bat. His face was turning red. Then Lily heard Petunia laugh. _

"_Wizard! __**I**__ know who __**you**__ are. You're that Snape boy! They live down Spinner's End by the river," she told Lily. She was suggesting to Lily that it was a bad part of town, not that it mattered to Lily. "Why have you been spying on us?"_

"_I haven't been spying. Wouldn't spy on __**you**__ anyway, __**you're **__a muggle," Snape said. _

"_Lily, come on, we're leaving!" Petunia yelled at Lily, and though Lily wanted to hear more about this witch and wizard business, she thought it best to obey Petunia. _

_Lily had been thinking about it when she reached home, and decided that she had to know what it meant. She was going to ask Snape. Lily told her parents that she was going to meet a friend at the playground. As soon as she was out of sight she sprinted to the end of Spinner's End down by the river. There was a house and on the door read: "The Snapes". Lily walked up to the door and knocked. It was a shabby house. Much unlike her own. The Snape boy opened the door and was shocked to see Lily. _

"_I wanted to talk to you. About the witch business," Lily told him. _

"_Come here, and we'll talk about it," Snape grabbed Lily's wrist and pulled her into a forest by the river. The two of them were hidden behind all the trees and shrubs. They had been talking for ages. About the wizarding world in general._

"…_and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside school, you get letters."_

"_But I __**have **__done magic outside school!"_

"_We're all right. We haven't got wands yet. They let you off when you're a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven, and they start training you, then you've got to go careful." _

_Lily picked up a twig and pretended it was a wand. She waved it back and forth and pretending it would do real magic. She dropped the twig and leaned closer and asked: "It __**is **__real, isn't it? It's not a joke? Petunia says you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It __**is **__real, isn't it?"_

"_For us, it's real, but not for her. But we'll get the letter, you and me."_

"_Really?" Lily whispered, afraid to voice it out loud._

"_Definitely." _

"_And it'll come by owl?"_

"_Normally, but since you're a muggle-born, someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."_

"_Does it make a difference? Being muggle-born?" There was an indefinite pause. Snape had stopped to think about this question. _

"_No, it doesn't make a difference."_

"_Good," Lily said. She was worrying. _

"_You've got loads of magic. I saw that. All the time I was watching you…" But Lily wasn't listening. She had laid down in the grass and stopped listening to Snape. _

"_How are things at your house?" Lily reluctantly asked._

"_Fine," he said._

"_They're not arguing anymore?" _

"_Oh yes, they're arguing, but it won't be that long and I'll be gone," Snape said and crushed some leaves in his hands. _

"_Doesn't your dad like magic?"_

"_He doesn't like anything, much," Snape said._

"_Severus, tell me about the dementors again."_

"_What do you want to know about them for?"_

"_If I use magic outside school–"_

"_They wouldn't give you o the dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban. You're not going to end up in Azkaban, you're too—" and then his face went red. Suddenly Petunia appeared hiding behind a tree. _

"_Tuney!"_

"_Who's spying now? What do you want?" Snape said. There was a pause, Petunia was searching for something hurtful to say. _

"_What is that you're wearing anyway? Your mum's blouse?" Petunia said pointing at Snape's shirt._

_Suddenly there was a crack and a branch fell over Petunia's head. Lily screamed as the branch hit Petunia on the shoulder. Petunia burst into tears and ran away. _

"_Tuney!" Then Lily rounded on Snape. "Did you make that happen?"_

"_No." Snape said scared, but defiant._

"_You did! You __**did**__! You hurt her!"_

"_No! I didn't!" But his lie wasn't convincing. Lily ran off after her sister and left Snape scared and alone. _

_END FLASHBACK_

Lily remembered back at the Halloween dance. She tried to approach Severus and tell him that she was sorry and she missed him, but her friends told her not to. That it would be a mistake. Lily started crying. Not only had she missed the friendship of Petunia. Ever since Lily received her letter from Hogwarts, Petunia had been jealous and had talked to Lily less and less. Lily remembered the day she left. Petunia and Lily had the worst row yet. She tried not to remember, but the scene came back so vividly.

_FLASHBACK_

"_I'm sorry Tuney! I'm sorry! Listen, maybe once I'm there—no listen, maybe once I'm there I can convince Dumbledore to change his mind!" Lily said grabbing Petunia's wrist so she couldn't get away. _

"_I don't want to go!" Petunia said and she dragged her hand back. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a—a—you think I want to be a __**freak!**__" Lily tried not to cry, but they were spilling over her eyes. _

"_I'm not a freak, that's a horrible thing to say!"_

"_That's where you're going. A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy…weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety."_

_Lily looked to her parents for help, but they weren't even paying attention. They were looking at all the people around in wizard's robes and still amazed at how they had walked through a brick wall. Lily lowered her voice as she spoke her next few words._

"_You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you."_

"_Beg? I didn't beg!" Petunia said, he face turning bright red. _

"_I saw his reply, it was very kind."_

"_You shouldn't have read—that was my personal—how could you?" Petunia said, almost lost for words. Lily glanced at Snape, and gave herself away. Petunia gasped._

"_That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!"_

"_No! Not sneaking! Severus saw the envelope and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of—"_

"_Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere! Freak!" Petunia said and ran over to her parents. _

_Lily got onto the train and sat alone with her new friends Julia and Megan. But after awhile, she began to wonder where Severus was. She went looking for him. When she couldn't find him, she decided to sit alone in a compartment with four other boys. After awhile the boys were getting rowdy, and finally, Severus appeared in the compartment. He sat down opposite Lily, but she wouldn't look at him. She had tear streaks down her face and just stared out the window. _

"_I don't want to talk to you," she said with a constricted voice._

"_Why not?"_

"_Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."_

"_So what?" _

_Lily glared at Severus. "So she's my sister!"_

"_She's only a—" He caught himself quickly, but Lily didn't catch it because she was wiping her eyes. "But we're going! We're off to Hogwarts!"_

_Lily half smiled._

"_You'd better be in Slytherin," Snape said, happy that Lily brightened a little._

"_Slytherin?"_

"_Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James asked Sirius. Back then, Lily didn't know who James was, and the incident in the Entrance Hall, she hadn't recognized him at all. _

"_My whole family have been in Slytherin," Sirius said without smiling. _

"_Blimey, and I thought you were all right!" James joked, and Sirius grinned._

"_Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"_

_James lifted an invisible sword. "'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."_

_Severus made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him. _

"_Got a problem with that?"_

"_No, if you'd rather be brawny than brainy—"_

"_Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius came in. James roared with laughter. _

"_Come on Severus, let's find another compartment."_

"_Oooooo…" James and Sirius imitated Lily's lofty voice; James tried to trip Severus as he passed. _

"_See ya, Snivellus!" James yelled as the compartment door slammed. Lily and Severus went back to sit with Julia and Megan who were, surprisingly, still empty, apart from each other. _

_END FLASHBACK_

Lily could not help but think how awful she had been to Severus since then. She had not spoken to him, nor tried to. She had thought she had a crush on him, but when she realized how much trouble he had caused her, she just thought of him as a friend. So what was she feeling towards James? She needed to stop focusing on this and start focusing on her school work. She was going to mend things with Severus and then forget about boys. And she fell asleep.

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**Ok so if you read harry potter 7, which I'm guessing you guys did, then this chapter is basically stupid and pointless. This is just to catch us up to speed. So sorry that this has taken so long and I'm sorry that you waited this long for nothing really. But maybe it'll refresh your memory: )) Keep reviewing!!!!!!!**


	12. 2: Falling in Love

**Well sorry it's been so long. I've been soooo busy with school and volleyball and everything. It's been a very long and stressful month. On with my story. **

**Year Two**

**Chapter Twelve.**

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Lily woke up to the sound of birds chirping. She had a wonderful dream. She was back home with Petunia and Severus. They had all made up. And James was there too. But for some reason, Lily didn't know where he stood in her dream. She crawled out of bed and went down to breakfast. She saw James and he looked at her, and looked away. She was confused. She went over to sit by him. When he noticed her approaching, he made an excuse, got up and walked out of the Great Hall. Lily was utterly confused. Had she done or said something wrong? Then she remembered. The kiss. They hadn't spoken since, and Lily was unsure where they stood on that subject. She felt hurt. How could he have done that to her?

Lily went through her routine of the day boringly. She had no one to talk to, because James was avoiding her. But she didn't feel like talking today anyway. She was upset. She didn't want to do anything.

The next few weeks flew by in the same manner. Lily was silent. She went to the Quidditch game Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. Gryffindor won, of course, because James caught the snitch. There was a party in the common room that Lily did not attend. She sat up in her room. Her friends were sick of trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Julia and Megan became closer to each other, but drifted away from Lily more and more. They soon weren't talking at all. Not because they were mad at her, but because she never talked to anyone anymore. Lily would occasionally run into James, but there was never any conversation. He avoided her as often as he could. What was wrong with her? Nothing was the conclusion Lily came up with. Everyone has their flaws, but that doesn't mean there's anything _wrong_ with them. James was just another stupid boy. That's all.

Pretty soon it was Christmas time. Lily wasn't allowed to go home. Her parents and Petunia were on vacation visiting Lily's grandparents. Lily missed home, but thought it might be better. She didn't want to argue with Petunia. She didn't even want to speak. Maybe it was for the best. When she found out that James and Sirius were staying at the castle over break, Lily's heart sank a little. How would she be able to avoid him now? Then she remembered that she should have seen this coming. His parents were still in the muggle hospital. They had not yet recovered. Then Lily felt bad for James. He couldn't go home because his parents were in a hospital. Lily couldn't feel angry at someone when they were already in so much emotional pain. Whether he showed it or not, it was there. And Lily knew.

She watched the students pile onto the Hogwarts Express to go home for Christmas. There were many students going home. The list of people staying fit on one piece of parchment. Lily trudged up into the Gryffindor common room and looked out the window on the ground. There was a small patch of newly fallen snow that students had not yet touched. Lily's face almost broke into a smile, but then she saw two figures run out into it and start making snow angels and snow forts. It was James and Sirius by the looks of it. Lily sighed and told herself that it was going to be a long two weeks. She crawled into her dorm and shut the door. She had the dorm to herself for these two weeks. She fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon.

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James and Sirius had come inside from their snowball fight. They had watched their friends Remus and Peter board the Hogwarts Express and go home to visit their families. Sirius didn't want to go home. His family hated him. James couldn't go home. His parents had been in that terrible accident and were still in the muggle hospital. James and Sirius were going to visit them over Christmas Holidays. They didn't know when, but Professor Dumbledore said that he would take them. James had been looking forward to this greatly.

After coming in, they dumped all their wet clothes onto the floor of the common room. They were the only Gryffindor boys staying, and as far as they knew, the only Gryffindors period.

They got some new clothes and sat in the common room when the portrait hole slid open. It was Professor Dumbledore.

"Hello boys," he said calmly.

"Hello," they both said.

"I believe we had an agreement to visit your parents, Mr. Potter," he continued.

"Yeah, would it be alright if Sirius came with us? I mean, my parents think of Sirius as family now," James asked innocently.

"I suppose that could be arranged. You'll have to do a good job lying to the secretaries at the hospital. When is it you would like to go?"

"As soon as possible," James said instantly.

"That can be arranged. Are you ready to go now?"

"Now? Yeah, I suppose, are you Sirius?" James asked.

"I'm readier than ever," he said.

"Good, we'll leave in five minutes. Meet me in my office," Dumbledore had said. The boys were stoked. They got things together and went to meet Dumbledore at his office. They stood outside and waited for him to emerge. When he finally did, he said not a word, but glided towards the Entrance Hall.

James and Sirius followed Dumbledore out into the cold evening into Hogsmead, confused. Once they reached the Hog's Head, Dumbledore finally stopped.

"I want each of you to take my arm please," Dumbledore requested. They boys did as they were told. A moment later, they were being sucked into a black tube, not big enough for them to fit. James couldn't breathe. Just when he thought he would run out of air, he could breathe again.

"What…was that?" James gasped.

"Apparition. Well, Side-Along Apparition," Dumbledore replied, not out of breath in the least.

"That was scary," Sirius admitted, catching his breath. They were standing outside the muggle hospital where Mr. and Mrs. Potter resided at the present time. James was suddenly too afraid to enter.

"Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked again. James did not hesitate.

"Yes."

They entered the building and went straight to these strange doors that opened sideways. Once inside, they were shooting upward and a number above the door would flash.

"What is this?" Sirius asked Dumbledore.

"This is what muggles call an 'elevator'. It's faster than stairs."

Dumbledore clambered out of the "elevator" when the number above the door reached four. James assumed they were on the fourth floor. He looked out a window and noticed he was very high up. Yep, the fourth floor alright. They walked down a hallway where people were being pushed by muggle healers in wheelie chairs. These were patients. Dumbledore stopped at a door that was shut numbered 443. James knew why he had stopped. This was a James thing, and Sirius if James wanted help.

"Well, let's go," James said to Sirius. They knocked and walked in. The sight was more than James had really wanted to see.

His mother was on the bed closest to the door. She had both of her legs wrapped into a white cast. Unable to walk. Her left arm was also in a white cast and a sling. Her head had been bandaged and her right eye was a little green and purple, still getting over her black eye. She smiled as James walked into the room.

"James! It's so good to see you!" She had said. She must have been worried about James with absolutely nothing else to do. He gave his mother a hug and looked to his right. The bed next to Mrs. Potter was Mr. Potter, though James wouldn't have known. The curtains were pulled around Mr. Potter's bed. James pointed to Mr. Potter's bed, asking his mother's permission. She nodded slightly and Sirius went to comfort Mrs. Potter at that point. She was making a remark about how long Sirius' hair was getting when James pulled back the curtain. Everything said after that went unheard. His focus was for his father, and his father only.

Mr. Potter had been paralyzed from the waist down and he still looked as if he had just been pulled from the accident. His head was bandaged, arms in odd positions, his legs at weird angles, and unconscious. That was the most crucial part. He was still in a coma. James struggled to understand how his father could be in a state like this. His father, the strongest person he knew, was now the weakest. James hated seeing his father at his weak point, when he could not control it because he was not conscious. A tear trickled down James' face and a muggle healer came in and gently pulled James from his father. She had to give him food. James was in a state of shock. How could this have happened to us? He thought.

Dumbledore had started having a conversation with Mrs. Potter. James and Sirius sat with Mrs. Potter and kept her company. James kept glancing at the window and at his father's bed. He thought if he kept his mind off of it for awhile, it would convince his father to wake up. But it never worked. The sky outside the window turned from a light blue, to a pink, orange, and purple glow. James thought it looked pretty, and it rarely looked like that outside. Then he watched the beautiful colors change again to a deep blue which turned into a midnight bluish purple. That was when Dumbledore thought it was time for them to leave. James wasn't sad. He hated hospitals. They reached the parking lot outside and grabbed onto Dumbledore's arm to apparate once again. James barely noticed it this time because his mind was somewhere else.

They walked back to the castle, and, once inside, Dumbledore had been bombarded by Professor McGonagall saying she needed his help urgently. Sirius and James walked up to Gryffindor tower alone.

They said the password and walked into the common room to find that they were not the only Gryffindors staying this holiday. They had met Lily Evans reading in front of the fire, comfortably. Just was James was dreading. He had been avoiding her because he thought if he saw her that she'd bring up the kiss. He had seen her from a distance and noticed that she hadn't been talking lately. She seemed to have gone mute all together. The kiss had been over a month ago, and yet, he still thought she might bring it up. When he saw her in the common room, Sirius bolted for the boy's dormitories. The two of them were alone. He walked up to her.

"Hey," James said, trying to sound casual.

"What made you decide to start talking to me again?" Lily asked. James was not expecting that. He didn't have an answer.

"What made you think it was okay to come back into my life when you hurt me so badly? Do you really think that I just got over it? Because I didn't. Maybe you should think of that before you try anything else," she said and got up and walked towards the girls' dormitories.

"Wait!" James yelled just before she reached the steps. She turned around. "Why do we spend all of our time focused on how much we dislike each other? That's not how it should be. Life's only so long, and if we focus on how much it sucks, all of the good things are going to pass us by. So far, I've learned that everyday of your life must be lived to the fullest. Life is about smiling, laughing, and even crying. Life is about making the most of what you have and what you're given. It's about keeping relationships and losing them. Life is about falling in love and losing someone you love. Life was give to us as a challenge and it's not easy, but you have to try and meet that challenge and make the most of it while you can because you don't actually know when it'll be your turn to lie down to rest. You only have one shot at life so make sure you take it with both hands and squeeze every little drop out of it you can. That we shouldn't spend our time fighting and arguing because that's a waste of life. Do you understand what I'm saying?" James asked finally. Lily looked at James with a questioning look. She had no idea what to make of what he was saying.

"Why are you suddenly being so nice?" She questioned.

"Because I realized how short life can be. I visited my parents today," he explained. He told her about his dad and how he's deathly afraid of what's going to happen to him.

"I'm so sorry James. I wish I could help," Lily said.

"You already have," James said and smiled. They hugged and went their separate ways to the different dormitories.

Lily lay in her bed that night. She had a small inkling as to what her newfound feelings were towards James.

Lily had her first crush.

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James went to his room and sat up the rest of the night with Sirius, his mind not once, floating back to Lily.

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The next morning, James had decided not to ignore Lily as much as he had been, but he was not going to get too close with her. Sirius would get suspicious. He went to breakfast with Sirius and saw Lily sitting at the Slytherin table across from the greasy kid on the train, Snivellus.

"Oi, look over there, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin getting along. Sitting at the same table no less. That's got to be fixed," James said, nudging Sirius.

"I really don't like that kid. He's so…I can't even describe him. He thinks he knows everything. He walks around like he owns the place. That's got to be changed. We'll do something, but I suggest we wait until Peter and Remus are back. We'll need their help," Sirius told him. And James agreed.

Meanwhile, Lily was speaking with her friend Severus for the first time in a long while.

"I don't understand why we can't be friends anymore Severus! It's ridiculous! We were friends before school and now it's like…even though we both apologized for things we've done and being stupid, even still you don't want to be my friend. Is that it? You don't **want **to be my friend?" Lily asked him. He looked up suddenly from his egg.

"No, that's not it. It's the houses. Gryffindors and Slytherins are the biggest rivals that magical history has ever seen. That's why the Gryffindor students and the Slytherin students hate each other. We're defying history," Severus explained.

"Then it's a good thing. Not bad. You know what Severus. The other day…well…actually it was about a month ago. I haven't really spoken to anyone in a month, but anyway, I was talking to Julia and Megan. Somehow, the conversation mentioned your name. I wasn't really paying attention until your name was involved. Julia asked if I knew you. I looked away and thought of all the good times we had together. Sharing laughter, tears, jokes, and tons more. And then, without explanation, you were gone. I looked to Julia who was waiting for an answer and said softly 'Once I thought I did.' Do you know how much it killed me to say that? And to remember that we can't be friends anymore because of something stupid like house rivalry? I'm appalled that it has to be like this. I wish it didn't."

"Why would you waste your time wishing for something? I bet out of all of your wishes, at least three of them have come true and it was all because you made it come true. Nothing can come true unless you make it happen," Severus told her sternly. He was truly fed up.

"Can we at least try to be friends again?" Lily asked.

"We can try, but I'm not going to promise you anything," Severus told her. "Now go sit at your table before one of those Gryffindors over there comes over and tries to take me out and rescue the 'damsel in distress'."

"I'll see you," Lily said hopefully. Severus just nodded. Lily somehow felt somewhat better.

"What were you doing over there talking to that Slytherin scum?" Sirius asked when Lily made it back over to her table.

"Speaking with him. And he happens to be my friend so I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about him that way," Lily defended.

"I don't give a flying rat's who-ha if he's your friend or not, he's scum either way. And I'd appreciate if you didn't speak to him like he's an equal, because he's not," Sirius said.

"I really don't care if you like him or not, because I do. He was my friend before Hogwarts, and that's not going to change because of some stupid house rivalry," Lily said.

"But he's the greasiest, slimiest, backstabbing, **Slytherin**, I've ever laid eyes on!" James yelled.

"Oi, my family, line of Slytherins, remember?" Sirius said, trying to calm James down.

"Yeah, but if you recall, you hate every member of your family. And you were so proud to **not **be part of that Slytherin line," James said calmly.

"True…continue," Sirius said with a grin.

"That, in which you speak of, is a human being. He has thoughts and feelings just like you and me. He's not some **thing** which you make him out to be. He may be a little rough on the edges, but it's what's inside that counts," Lily concluded.

"Well his insides are probably just as ugly as his outsides. And they only tell that to ugly people so they don't feel as bad," James retorted. Sirius sniggered in the background.

"Even if that was true, he still has feelings. How would you feel if someone told you all these mean things? You'd feel horrible. Because you have feelings. Because you're a human being. Don't hurt someone just because they're different."

"He's about as close to a human being as that owl right there," James said and pointed to an owl that was flying in to deliver the post.

"James Potter! You disgust me!" Lily said and stomped out of the Great Hall. Their friendship tarnished once again. James actually felt somewhat bad this time. He knew he shouldn't have said those things, but he hated Snivellus beyond reason. And he barely knew the kid.

"Poor guy, he's gonna have it rough wouldn't you say?" Sirius said looking at Severus like he was reading James' mind.

"Yeah, I almost feel bad for him. But not really," James said with a smile.

"What do you think Lily will do to us when she finds out?" Sirius asked, serious this time.

"I'm not sure. Since she's not talking to us…it's going to be worse than not being friends with us. I'm thinking…she'll tell Dumbledore. Or maybe she'll take us for a guilt trip. Something unpleasant, I'll give you that much."

"Yeah, so we better make it good. Let's get to work!" Sirius said, excited.

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Lily was fed up with James' flip flopping between being her friend and not being her friend. She couldn't deal with the emotional stress that came with it. She decided even if he did ask to be her friend again, she would turn him down. Watch him feel bad for once.

Lily was taking a walk through the school by herself. She was on the first floor when she heard the sniggering. She strained her ears to hear it again. Sure enough, she did. She followed the noise behind a suit of armor. It was Severus and another Slytherin, Avery. Lily didn't know him well, but she did not like him. He was not a very nice person from what Lily had heard. When Severus saw Lily, he stopped laughing and ran after Lily. She had no idea where she was running, but she knew she could outrun Severus. He was not very athletic. All of a sudden, Severus was in front of Lily with both arms held out to stop her.

"Lily, come on, we've got to work this out," he said. He sounded sincere.

"Severus! What were you doing with Avery?" Lily flat out asked him.

"I was…he's my friend," Severus told her.

"Severus, I'm tired of being a back and forth friend with you and James. It's ridiculous! I can't stand it anymore. We're going to have to chose at some point," Lily told him. "Maybe we would be better off not friends. No one would complain about house rivalry, and you wouldn't have to hold the burden of being back and forth with me anymore."

"Lily, I don't want that, I love you!" Severus blurted out. By the look on his face, he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Severus, love isn't what your friends or family thinks; it's what **you** think. Love isn't anyone else's problem but the people in love. Love is based on two people, who are exactly alike or even exact opposites, someone to fill their other half. Who needs money or cars when you have love? A relationship isn't perfect; it has its good times and bad times, and when you argue, you make up no matter how bad it is. Cheating is forgivable, but if you love the person like you say you do, there is no reason to cheat because they are the only person you need. Love is forever even if you break up; if you loved the person when you break up, you still will. Love isn't about age; age is just a number. It's about how you treat each other, not how old they are. Love hurts, and sometimes relationships don't work out and you will cry, but one day you will find true love. You never know when love is going to hit you, and, when it does, it will hit hard. Once it hits, it's hard to get back up again. Love hurts, but it's worth the pain. You're not ready for that kind of commitment, and neither am I. So let's go on and pretend like this never happened," Lily explained. Severus looked ashamed, but nodded anyway.

"Okay," he said.

"Thank you, now go have fun with _Avery_," She said his name with disgust. She did not like him one tiny bit.

Lily walked around the corner, and started back for the Gryffindor common room. Little did she know that her and Severus were not alone.

James Potter had been listening to every word behind a suit of armor. He had been spying on Severus and Avery for a chance to pull something on him, or at least get some information that would help them out later. When Lily came, James followed her and Severus and listened to every word Lily spoke. He was speechless. Not only did what she said apply to Severus, but it applied to James too.

James had begun to realize that he had some feelings for Lily Evans. And he was scared.

James took the long way up to Gryffindor tower so he could be alone with his thoughts before he revealed to Sirius everything he had learned tonight. Including the information about Lily. He couldn't hide it from his friends anymore. He had to share his feelings with them. Maybe they'd be able to help.

_Is she worth it? Is she all I've ever wanted in a girl? How am I supposed to know, I've never thought about this before, I'm eleven years old for crying out loud! Wait, Lily's birthday is coming up, I could give her an anonymous gift that she'd absolutely love. Then I can slowly work up the courage to tell her how I feel. That's a good plan; I'll have to tell the guys about this. Should I tell them now, or when everyone's back? Why is this so hard for me? Arrrrgh! Stupid girls. _

By now James had reached the Gryffindor Tower. He said the password and climbed into the boy's dormitory so he could reveal to Sirius what he had learned. Sirius was already up there waiting for him.

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Lily had gone back to the girls' dormitory to be alone once again. She had nothing better to do. Christmas was rapidly approaching. Two more days. And not long after that would be her twelfth birthday. She was exciting. It was exhilarating. She thought about what her parents had gotten her.

_What if they forget to send my gifts because they're away? Or what if they forget about my birthday! That'd be horrible. They have been acting really anti-Lily lately. They wouldn't even let me go on their vacation with them. They let Petunia go. This is not fair. Why is life so cruel?_

She fell asleep that night anxious about the next couple of days.

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"…So you're telling me, that you **like **her?" Sirius asked, incredulously.

"Well…I'm saying…I **think **I like her. Actually I think I love her, but like would probably be a better statement at our young age," James explained briefly.

Sirius burst out into giggles.

"It's not **funny**. It's going to be a rough time for me. She probably doesn't want anything to do with me because I'm so mean to her," James defended.

Sirius was on the ground laughing now.

"You know, I never made fun of you when you had a crush on Julia!" James yelled while throwing a pillow at Sirius.

"That's…because…I'm a…ladies man," Sirius said between gasps. He was calming down finally.

"Whatever, even if that was true, I never made fun of you because I'm a nice person; you're just a mean guy all around!" James said, pouting now. He didn't like being the one made fun of, he was usually the one making fun of someone else.

"Well, what's your glitch then?" Sirius said, finally completely calm.

"I think she might be in love with Snivellus," James replied.

Sirius burst into laughter again. James sat and waited for him to finish. There was no point trying to argue when he could barely breathe as it was.

"Who in their right mind would be in love with **him**?!" Sirius asked disgustedly.

"Apparently her. And that sucks for me," James said sadly.

"Well, isn't her birthday coming up? And with Christmas being tomorrow…never mind, you don't have enough time to get her a gift for Christmas, but if her birthday's coming up, you could do something special," Sirius said, seriously this time.

"Yeah, I think I will. Thanks Sirius." 

"Anytime."

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**So what did you think? Pretty good for not writing in over a month huh? I'm so eager to get past all this little kid phase. I'm ready for the young adult stuff. Oh you know what I mean…haha. Ok so review. pleeeeeease? I have a lot and I'm really excited about it. Thanks for reading it, now review it. :D**


	13. 2: Stubborn Little Toerag

**Wow it's been so long since I've updated and for that I'm very sorry. D: I'll try and make this chapter worth it then. :D**

**Year Two**

**Chapter Thirteen.**

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Christmas had gone over smoothly. And soon it was Lily's birthday. She was finally twelve years old. She didn't feel any different, not that she expected to. She was excited for turning thirteen. She received many gifts from her parents and sister (though the gifts from her sister were undoubtedly given by her parents with a false label). She even got a gift from Remus, Julia, Megan, and a mystery gift. The mystery gift happened to be her favorite, though she would never tell anyone because they would feel bad.

When February rolled around, Lily was anxious. What if she got another surprise from her mysterious gift donor on Valentine's Day? She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one seeing as how she didn't know who it was.

She received a locket from this mystery person. Inside there was nothing. That was up to Lily to decide what she wanted inside it, but the outside was so beautiful. It looked expensive and Lily wondered who would possibly spend so much money on her. She wore it all the time, everywhere she went. No one asked about it, but Lily didn't mind. Inside she kept a picture of Julia and Megan; her favorite people at the moment. But they were the only people who knew what was inside the locket.

Lily continued with a smile on her face.

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When James found out that Lily loved his present, he was ecstatic. Sirius and Remus were the only ones that knew it was James who was the mysterious man to give Lily her locket. And every time he saw her, he smiled, for he knew that his locket was placed around her neck at all times. And when he saw the light catch her neck, he knew it was because of the locket he placed there.

They were in Transfiguration, and they were working on transforming their animals into goblets. Lily was having some difficulty, unlike James. He was playing with his goblet while watching Lily wave her wand in frustration. The sunlight streaming in was catching the chain that held the locket, and James couldn't help but stare. She threw both of her arms up in frustration, and in that process, the locket came out from hiding under her blouse, to on top of it. With her head bent forward, the heart shaped locket swung and dangled from her neck. James watched it spin in circles over and over again.

"Oi! What are you doing? I know you're like a genius when it comes to Transfiguration and all, but would you mind staying conscious when we're plotting to destroy Snivellus?" Sirius asked.

"Wha?" James said, coming back from his daydream.

"That's what I thought, FOCUS!" Sirus said while grabbing James' face.

"Do we have a plan yet?" James asked sleepily.

"No, we've got nothing at the moment. But I have something formulating in my brain. I just got to work the kinks out, before I can present it. I've got to make sure it's going to work. Of course, this is a drawn out process to hurt Snivellus. It's going to take about a year as I see it. We're going to have to wait quite awhile, but it'll be worth it. I promise," Sirius said with a grin. That was the grin that won all the girls over. Sadly, James wasn't sure if he trusted it.

"I think if it requires you to think, Sirius, then you should probably spill your guts now so we can veto your idea," James said.

"You can't veto my idea! It's the best idea ever!" Sirius said.

"Really? Let's hear it then," James said, somewhat interested.

"Well, remember when we decided last year that we were going to become animagi?" Sirius reminded.

"I remember you coming up with a crazy idea that sounded like that, but I do not remember agreeing to it."

"Well, let's say we do agree to it. We spend all of this year and some of the next working on perfecting our skills, and by next year, we can play our prank on Snivellus," Sirius said.

"I don't see the plan to get Snivellus. Is that the part that needs thinking up still?" James asked.

"Well…I've got an idea."

"Spit it out Black."

Remus and Peter had stopped plotting because the idea was beyond ridiculous. They never expected that plan to follow through. Sirius was debating whether or not he should tell James this next part of the plan. The hugest part.

"Well, we lead Snivellus into the tree that Remus hides in when he's 'ill', and let him discover Remus, though he won't know it's Remus, he'll be scared out of his mind!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I don't know. It does need a lot of work before we can actually do it. I mean, we'll have to take necessary precautions to make sure he doesn't die. I mean, we couldn't be responsible for a death; I'd have a guilty conscience. Not to mention, we'd probably go to Azkaban. I can't have that now."

"You're right, but it's a good plan, right? Not to mention, we become animagi! It's a win-win situation!"

"Alright, but that means we're going to have to start with this animagi stuff pretty soon if we want to pull that prank by next year. We're going to have to be perfect at this transfiguring to make sure Remus doesn't kill Snivellus. He wouldn't like that very much either I don't think…" James trailed off. He gazed at Lily again. Her long, red hair was flowing rather beautifully today. As the sun was shining off her locket, it also seemed to be shining off her hair too. The sunlight gleamed off the snow into the classroom, towards the locket and Lily's hair, to James' eyes, causing him to stare uncontrollably. Not that he didn't want to.

Just then, the bell rang, and it was off to lunch for them. Lily seemed reluctant to leave because she had not mastered her spell yet. She was caught by surprise when the bell rang, she seemed to have lost track of time. She was shoving things in her bag left and right, and somebody had knocked all of her things off her desk while she was trying to leave. They broke her ink bottle and she had ink everywhere. Professor McGonagall had disappeared into her office already, and the only other people were James and Sirius. Sirius was just as eager to leave as everyone else.

"I'll catch up with you," James had said to him. Sirius looked a little confused, but then saw Lily and understood. He nodded and rushed out.

"Need some help?" James asked.

"Not from you," Lily replied. She was still angry at him. Always would be she vowed.

"Come on, you look a little frustrated and I thought you'd like a hand."

"Yeah, well I can handle everything just fine. I'm an independent girl who knows how to take care of herself. I don't need a jerk like you helping me with things I don't need help with."

"Lily, stop being like this, you know I'm sorry. It's just how I am. You can't blame me. Besides, I'm trying to be a friendly person and help you out by cleaning up this mess and getting you to lunch on time. Please?"

"No James! No! I don't need anything from you. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got somewhere to be."

"Can I walk you there? We're both going to lunch."

"I'd rather you didn't, actually. I'd rather not be in your presence if you don't mind," she said as she walked out on him. James was struck with awe. How could she turn him down like that? She always took him back. Why did she not want to now?

They all proceeded to lunch where Lily made a point to sit as far away from James as possible. James sat down by Sirius, Remus, and Peter, who were discussing something they found under Sirius' desk in Transfiguration.

"Oi! What's your problem James? Case of the girl blues?" Sirius asked and patted James on the back.

"Lily doesn't want to be my friend anymore. Maybe it's just the timing. I'll get her to like me. I'm positive. I'll do whatever it takes."

And he stuck to his promise. He tried so hard to be nice to people around Lily and to Lily. He had Remus sneak in a few nice words around her, and from time to time, he used his invisibility cloak to follow her and find out ways to make her smile.

Before long, it was March 27th, James' birthday. When he heard the other boys starting to get up, James pulled the covers from over his face, and just laid there, staring at the ceiling. He didn't want to get up and go to class on his birthday. He didn't want to do anything. Unless Lily decided she would be his friend again. But she kept to her promise, and was nowhere near breaking point.

Sirius pulled back the curtains to James' bed half dressed. James pulled the covers back over his face.

"Oi! How's the birthday boy?! How does it feel to be twelve finally?" Sirius asked. Sirius had his birthday in October.

"Like every other day. I feel like I don't want to get up to go to class. I don't want to face Lily Evans. I don't want anyone to make a big deal of my birthday. I want my parents out of the hospital. I want everything to be perfect. But I can't have it, can I?" James told him.

Sirius looked confounded. He shrugged and pulled James out of bed. He ran down the stairs out of sight, still only half dressed, and out of sight. James got dressed alone. He threw his bag over his shoulder and was adjusting his tie as he descended the stairs. When he reached the common room he heard a hundred cries of "Happy Birthday Potter!" from the entire Gryffindor house. Everyone except for Lily that is. This depressed James even more.

"How was that for not making it a big deal?" Sirius asked.

"Thanks pal, just what I wanted," James said sarcastically.

"No problem," Sirius said with a smile.

"The worst part, Lily's already down at breakfast," James told him.

"Yeah, well, she's got to say happy birthday. It's like, against the law not to say happy birthday to someone on their birthday if they know it's that person's birthday," Sirius said trying to make him feel better. It didn't.

Lily was eating her breakfast and reading the _Daily Prophet_. She hadn't even realized that James came into the Great Hall. James stared at her from the door leading into the Great Hall. Lily must have sensed that someone was watching her because she stopped reading, and looked up and around for the eyes that were upon her. James then began walking towards the Gryffindor table. She watched him approach the table for breakfast. The only open space was across from her, and Lily noticed it. When she realized that's where James was heading with that smile on his face, she chugged her orange juice and started to get up and leave. She was a little too late.

"Hey, Lily, wait. Before you go, I just, I need you to know this Lily," James said, grabbing her upper arm. She actually stopped to listen. This surprised James, because he no longer had anything prepared to say. There were so many things he **could **say, but he wasn't sure if they would have the right effect on Lily. He wanted her. He needed her, at least as friends.

"Lily, I keep thinking about how much I love talking to you. How good you look when you smile. How much I love your laugh; even though those have been rather rare lately. Did you know that I daydream about you on and off during the day; replaying conversations we once had; laughing at funny things that we said or did. I've memorized your face and the way you look at me. I catch myself smiling again at what I imagine. I wonder what will happen the next time we are together and even though neither of us know what our future holds, I know one thing for sure; you are the best thing that ever happened to me," James said. He wasn't sure if he should have or not, but he did. And it was all true. Lily just stared at him in amazement. James thought that he had finally said the right thing, but he was wrong because Lily's face turned bright red; not from embarrassment, but because she was so furious with him.

"James Potter, how **stupid** do you think I am? Why do you think that I would believe anything of what you just said? I haven't caved in yet, and I don't plan on it anytime soon. You are twelve years old as of today if I'm not mistaken, and you should know, that you have your whole life ahead of you. Everything that you just told me, you will tell many other girls in your future, because you are going to be one of those guys who has many girlfriends because you can't stay with one for too long. I know. Trust me. Your little speech was a load of bull, and I can't stand you. So block the sun from lighting up my sky, let the rain fall with no rainbow to back it up, rip apart my heart without sewing up the seams, baby I don't need you," Lily said and stormed off in a fury. James watched her in awe. She turned him down twice. For being friends. James saw Remus run after her. James was in way over his head.

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As Lily was making her way back to her dormitory, she heard Remus chasing after her. She stopped so he could catch up.

"What was that all about?" He finally asked when he caught his breath.

"Just James being James. He tried to make up our friendship by telling me that I'm all he thinks about during the day and all this and that. It was a load of bull. But he seemed so serious when he said it. I thought it was a joke, but he could never be that serious during a prank I don't think," Lily told him.

"It wasn't a joke, as far as I know. He was being truthful Lily. He wouldn't hurt you like that because he has a little thing for you if I'm not mistaken. I'm sure he was going make it known soon. But for you to shoot him down like that…that's going to hurt him," Remus said.

"Good, his ego needs to be dented. It's huge. But I don't understand, why would he have a thing for me over all the girls here? I mean, if you saw me in a crowd, you probably wouldn't notice me. I don't really stand out and I don't talk much to people I don't know. It's kind of hard to know me or be friends with me, so I advise not to waste your time on me, but that doesn't mean I don't want you to try," Lily said.

"You know why I think he does?" Remus asked.

"Why?"

"Because you are a good person. You love people, whether they are good people or bad people, whether you know it or not. You could never hate any one. You are friendly, and nice, and pretty, what's not to like about you? And James, well he only wants the best. Do you even miss him?"

"Well, I mean, I guess, maybe, kind of…" Lily said reluctantly.

"Then I suggest you tell him. He should know. You don't have to be friends with him, just tell him you miss him. But I've got to start heading to class, we're going to be late if we're not careful. Bye Lily!"

"Bye Remus!" Lily wasn't sure why he thought he was going to be late. Lily was still going to go up to her dormitory, write that letter, and then head over to class. Maybe the four boys had something they had to take care of before class.

Lily plopped down on the most comfortable chair in front of the fire, and began to write very fast. When she finished, she raced down to the fifth floor to attend History of Magic. She arrived before James and left her letter on his desk.

When James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter came in, they were laughing. Lily made it look like she had been reading and didn't want to be bothered. James reached his desk and saw the note. When he opened it, he looked to the signature at the bottom first. Lily Evans. His heart skipped a few beats. It didn't matter if the note was good or bad, but she thought of him enough to write him a letter.

_Dear James,_

_Well, I must say, I've been extremely angry at you for quite some time; I didn't think it was possible for me to stay mad at someone for so long. But that doesn't really matter. I was walking with Remus and talking about you, and he suggested that I write you a letter telling you how I feel because talking to you in person would be very violent I believe. _

_As much as I don't want to say it, I guess it's safe to say that I miss you. I miss the simplicity of just being without having to try while everyone else was striving to be someone. I miss being accepted for who I am with you. How even when I ask for space, you knew enough never to leave. And now that you're gone, I seem to have more space then I know what to do with. I guess it's safe to say I miss you. But that doesn't mean I want to be your friend yet. I guess what I'm trying to do is get across to you my point. I hope you see it, and change for the better. _

_Sincerely,_

_Lily Evans_

James didn't know what to do. How could he change? That wasn't something you just do. He couldn't just change who he was for someone. That was out of the question. But he would try. He decided to write back to her, explaining his current situation.

_Dear Lily,_

_Wow, I'm not really sure how to respond to your letter. I would love to tell you that I'm all for that plan and I'm going to start the changing process as soon as I can, but I just can't do that. You see I have people who actually do like the way I am. Those are my real friends. If you can't like me for who I am, I'm not going to change my whole personality just for you. Because then, in the end, only you will like me. And I'm not up for that kind of commitment. I like who I am, and I know others who do too. That's all that really matters to me. Though I will admit, that you __**not**__ liking me matters too. I hate that, but if you just can't accept who I am, that's just too bad. I can't help it. I would really love to change, but I can't. I will try my hardest to make you proud and try to be—if not friends, acquaintances—with each other. I must say, your letter really touched me. It inspired me. I wish I could fulfill your request, but alas, tis impossible. And for that, I am very sorry. I hope that you think of me often, especially when there is a very good prank being involved, and perhaps you'll see that I am a good person all around. Or, you'll see that you can learn to live with my quirks. I have. Just live a little. _

_P.S. – you're welcome. And thanks for the happy birthday greeting, it really brightened up my day. _

_Love, _

_James Potter_

He was satisfied with his letter. It contained his true self, and a little sarcasm thrown in there too. He had welcomed her unsaid thanks to him about the locket. He knew she would have said thanks to the donor, had she known who it was, and James was just being polite. Strange as it is.

After class, James made it so that he was right behind Lily when exiting the classroom. He slipped his letter into her bag without her notice. He grinned to himself and met his friends outside for some good chatting.

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That night, when Lily was finishing up her homework, she pulled out her History of Magic book, when out fell a letter on a very tarnished piece of parchment. It had been sitting in the bottom of her schoolbag all day. It was torn, had a few holes in it, and the ink smudged only a little, but it was all still legible. When she read it, she chuckled a little to herself, though she would never admit it to anyone else.

"That stubborn, little toerag. Well, he's in for the surprise of his life," Lily said to herself and began to laugh some more.

Before going to sleep and after finishing her homework, she decided to write to Severus. She was in the writing mood. She just wanted to say hello and hoped he was staying out of trouble. She knew that he and Avery were up to no good, and she intended to keep an eye on it. If she wouldn't, no one else would. She also said that she hoped to see him over summer break over by the house. She needed the company now that Petunia hated her. She signed it L, in case someone else had read it and made fun of him for talking to a Gryffindor.

When she had finished, she reread it over and over, correcting this and correcting that. Finally, she wrote it all over again, with no mistakes, put it in an envelope, and intended to take it to the owlery. When she realized it was after hours, she made a mental note to take care of it in the morning. She crawled into bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

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**Oooooooooook. Well I'm terribly sorry that it took so long. I had the worst writer's block that I thought I was going to abandon the story. But I didn't. :D I slaved over it on Christmas, so you all better review it. Haha, I really hope you love it. I'm not really sure if I do yet or not. :/ So read it, love it, review it. :D Kelseyy. **


	14. 2: Knock Me Down and Give Me a Funeral

**Alrighty then. I think I liked the last one a little bit. I don't think I liked it a lot though…Well here's chapter 14. :D**

**Year Two**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**-----------------------------**

The rest of the year was going uneventful. Lily had seen less and less of the four boys she had come to despise. She had been sorry that Remus was being involved in the shenanigans that the others were causing because that meant he had even less time to spend with her. She saw them in passing in the hallways and in classes, but she no longer saw them in the common room or the library. She had begun to think they were up to something. She mentioned it to Julia and Megan.

"You noticed? How could you notice? I hadn't noticed," Megan said.

"How could you not? The pranks have been on short supply lately," Julia replied.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to think that they were getting into trouble, but Remus is involved in whatever they're doing, and I don't want Remus to get into trouble. That would be awful," Lily told them.

"Do you have a thing for Remus?" Megan asked.

"Of course not!" Lily has screamed. Several heads turned her way.

"Just checking," Megan said.

"He's like the older brother that I never had. He actually cares about what I think and my feelings, but I feel no romance towards him."

"Have you felt romantic feelings for anyone at Hogwarts? I mean, it's your second year and you haven't had one boyfriend, I think it's time we started looking," Julia said, not looking up from her potions homework.

"I think you're crazy," Lily told her.

Just then, Peter Pettigrew waddled down the stairs from the boy's dormitories, and tried to get out of the portrait hole without being noticed. He noticed Lily and waddled faster.

"Hold it!" Peter froze.

"Where are you going?"

"The library," he said innocently, but Lily knew better.

"Really? Where have you, Sirius, James, and Remus been the past few weeks? I haven't seen you guys around at all," Lily said. She felt like a mother scolding her son.

"We've just been in the boy's dormitories. And a little in the library."

"I haven't seen you in the library."

"We've been mostly in the boy's dormitories." Lily looked up the stairs. She knew she could just walk right up there and see what was going on if she really wanted to know. She turned and started slowly walking towards the staircase. Peter ran to it and reached it first; even on his squat little legs.

"You can't go up there!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's a **boy's** dormitory. You're a girl." Peter said, thinking quickly.

"Well, I did lend a book to Arthur Weasley recently, maybe I could go see if he still has it."

"I'll go ask him." Peter said and sprinted up the stairs and out of sight. Lily knew that he was going up to warn the others that Lily suspected them and would possibly be on her way up if he couldn't stall her anymore. It would be pointless to try and catch them now. She walked back over to the couch where Julia and Megan sat watching.

"Told you they're up to something," Lily told them.

"Yeah, but what could they be doing that would require them to retire their joke playing for weeks?" Megan asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like the sound of it."

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Peter raced up the stairs and knocked a special knock on a door that read "second years". Remus answered the door and quickly let him in. Peter was out of breath and was bent over clutching his sides, breathing heavily. He was catching his breath first. He didn't worry about Lily. The door was magically locked. Not that she couldn't open it anyway…

"Lily, she knows something's up. She stopped me on my way out and asked what we were doing and she almost made it up here. I just managed to make it up before her. Actually, I'm surprised she hasn't come bursting in already," Peter told them.

Remus volunteered to check it out. He put the invisibility cloak on and crept downstairs. He listened to Lily, Megan, and Julia discuss what they could be doing. Of course they had no idea, which was comforting. How could they know? They had no leads. All they knew is that the four boys were up to no good, but that wasn't unusual. Not for them.

Remus crept back upstairs and told them that they were all clear.

"Lily must have known that you came to warn us and figured coming up would be a waste. She knew she wouldn't find anything if you had warned us. She's quick," Remus said.

"Yeah, and she's smart. Which means, we're going to have to be careful, with a smart, quick girl like her around, she might figure out what we're up to, which would mean disaster for our plans!" Sirius said. He started pacing the room. The boys had shoved all of their workings into the empty dresser. They had four boys in that room instead of five like most rooms. They got lucky and were short one boy in the second year.

"Well, what if we had a way to let us know where she was and when she would be about to bust us?" James asked.

"That would be incredible!" Sirius jumped up and said. "What're you thinking Jamesy boy?"

"Well, we're smart. Look at what we're doing. I think we can come up with something," James said. Sirius' face fell a little. Apparently, he didn't think they were as smart as James was making them out to be.

"That's a great idea!" Remus said. Everyone was shocked. "Let's start brainstorming."

The four boys pulled their heads together while standing in a circle in the middle of the room. They had decided a map would be best. The first idea was a map of Gryffindor Tower. Remus would ask Lily if she could draw a picture of the girl's dormitory for a project, and the others would draw pictures of the boy's dormitories and the common room. They just needed the outline of what each room looked like. They realized they could find out wherever Lily was in Gryffindor Tower, and when she came to bust them, they would be prepared to hide their things. They enchanted their map so that the dot that read "Lily Evans" would move to wherever the actual Lily Evans was. When they were working, they would constantly keep an eye on the map. She was rarely on it though. She decided to find more things to busy her time with.

One day in May, when everyone was outside, the figure of Lily Evans walked into the Gryffindor common room. They started packing a few things in case she decided to head their way. She did. They frantically packed everything, and by time she burst through the door, everything was gone. They looked suspicious though, and Lily did not give up her thoughts of their trouble. She would repeatedly come back to check on them, but each time, they were busying themselves with wizard's chess.

And then, halfway through May, their plans were almost shattered. There was a quick knock on the door, but whoever it was didn't bother on waiting for them to open. It was Megan, Lily's friend. Lily seemed to have caught on that they were being alerted to when she was coming. Luckily, the four boys were packing up for the night when she made her appearance. Though, they had left out a few key items that they quickly shoved under the bed.

"What're you guys doing?" she asked.

"Nothing, just…uh…putting away our wizard's chess board," James said.

"Really? Listen, we know you're up to something, and, let me tell you, Lily's not stupid. If she really wants to know, she'll find out. I'd do a better job at hiding it if I were you," she told them. "I saw nothing. I know nothing."

She walked downstairs to tell Lily that nothing was to be found. Lily was disappointed. How could they know when they were coming? What were they using as a detector? Or who were they using? Lily went to bed that night with uneasiness.

The boys, on the other hand, were restless. They were worried that Lily was going to start sending up more people that they didn't have detections on, and someone was going to spill the beans to her. And if she found out, well, the boys would be expelled for sure. That night they didn't sleep. They were working on fixing the map so that it held every student. But in order to do that, they needed the list of students that was in Dumbledore's office.

"Do you think Filch would have a copy?" Sirius asked. "Because if he did, that would be an easy one to get to. I mean, we could just as easily get one from Dumbledore, but it would be more fun to take one from Filch, wouldn't it?"

"I don't think he has one. He has files on every student he's ever punished, but Lily's not on that list, which means there's got to be others who aren't in there. I think we need to go straight to Dumbledore and get that list," James decided.

"Right, we'll go tomorrow then. James and I will get the list while the two of you keep an eye on Lily. If she knows we've been working up here, then she might drop in unexpectedly when we happen to be on the opposite side of the school. If she gets up there, she'll search. And if she searches, she'll find things. Things we can't explain to Dumbledore. So you pretend to play wizard's chess while we get our list. It shouldn't take too long I don't think," Sirius figured.

"Sounds like a plan. Are we all in?" James asked.

Remus and Peter looked unsure.

"Guys, this plan is better than soundproof. This way, if Dumbledore finds out what we're doing, Sirius and I will get the blame. You guys haven't done anything except playing wizard's chess while the two of us cause havoc. It's a win-win situation for you guys!" James pointed out.

The other guys were in.

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The next day during breakfast, James and Sirius approached Professor McGonagall at the High Table. They had told her that they would like to make an appointment to see Professor Dumbledore as soon as possible. She told them that he would be available after classes in his office. The password was "tootsie roll". McGonagall rolled her eyes when she said the password.

"Honestly, the fetish that man has with muggle sweets…" she had said. They thanked her and went to eat their breakfasts.

After classes, Peter and Remus headed towards Gryffindor Tower, pulled out the map and the wizard's chess. They pretended to be enjoying themselves while playing the game that they were both horrible at. No one came up.

James and Sirius arrived at the gargoyle that was guarding the Headmasters' office. They said the ridiculous password and the gargoyle jumped aside and stairs appeared. They walked up and knocked on the door to the office.

"Come in."

They entered the office that was very complicated. There were the pictures of the previous headmasters, silver instruments that emitted an odd puff of smoke every now and again, and a phoenix. One that had just been reborn recently. James had never seen one before, only in pictures. They approached the Headmaster's desk and asked politely for the list of students at Hogwarts.

"Why would two boys such as you ask for a list of students?" He asked. They looked at each other. They didn't know how to answer that. They didn't like lying to the Headmaster.

"Well, you see Professor, we're doing a project, not a school project, but our own little thing, and well, we need a list of students that attend Hogwarts, sir." James said. That wasn't lying.

"I seem to know that the two of you and Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew are quite close and that you tend to cause a little more trouble than Mr. Filch would like. I would give you the list, but my dear boys, whatever will you do when you need the students that are arriving next September?"

"Um, well, we hadn't really thought of that yet." James said.

"I figured as much. What if I did you a little favor? You don't have to tell me what you're doing, or what it's for, but what if I enchanted the list so that it would generate the new students arriving every year on it, and taking off the graduating students? Would that be helpful?" Dumbledore asked.

"That would be extremely helpful. Do you think you could do one more thing?" Sirius asked.

"I suppose I could try."

"Could you maybe link the list with our…project…so we wouldn't have to rewrite every student's names?"

"I guess I could do that."

"Thank you so much Professor."

"Now I'll need the project if I'm linking the two together."

"Well, it's not quite ready for that stage. That's the last thing we need to add. So can we come back in a about a week for the link?" James asked.

"That would be fine."

"Thanks so much Professor!" The two boys called. They ran back to the Gryffindor Tower to tell Peter and Remus the good news.

"We've got good news too. Lily didn't come up. Nor did anyone else," Remus told them.

"Good. Now, our next line of business is to start making a map of the entire school. Then we can take it to Dumbledore," Sirius said. He looked excited.

"Why are you excited? This sets your plan back some more. You did realize that, didn't you?" James asked. Sirius' face seemed to fall a little. He wanted to get at Severus so badly that he was even willing to put it off for about a month so they could continue working in peace without being interrupted by one such as Lily Evans.

"Let's get to work!" Sirius exclaimed.

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Lily had gotten tired of trying to figure out what the four boys were up to. She needed to focus on more important things. Her final examinations were at the top of her list. Megan, Julia, and Lily were very nervous for them and had shown up in the library every evening.

"I was thinking, what would you say if I invited the both of you to stay at my place this summer?" Julia asked. Lily looked excited. Anything to get away from Petunia for as long as possible. Megan looked unsure. Megan came from a pureblood family. She wasn't used to being around muggles.

"What if the both of you stay at my place?" Megan asked.

"I'm all in wherever we go; as long as I can get away from my sister," Lily said.

"I'll ask my parents and send you letters when you can come."

"I'm excited now!" Julia said.

"Now we just have to get through exams," Lily sighed.

She looked up from her Transfiguration book frustrated. She absolutely couldn't stand it. She was terrible at it. She needed a lot of practice before she could ever get it right. She looked up and heard voices behind some shelves. Lily went to go put a book back in the next aisle. She peered through the shelf at who was causing such racket and what they were talking about. It was Severus and Avery. Lily looked disgusted. She did not want to know what they were talking about. She walked back to the table and started packing up. She was going back to Gryffindor Tower.

"I'll see you guys later."

"Alright, we'll be up in a little while," Julia responded without looking up from her book.

Lily walked up the several flights of stairs to Gryffindor Tower. She reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and went to give her the password, but, she realized, she had forgotten what it was. She looked at the Fat Lady, stumped.

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked.

"Give me a second, I'll remember," she told her.

She didn't remember. She sat outside the portrait hole for quite some time. She waited for a Gryffindor to show up, but not many did. She sat and waited and waited. She started thinking about what James was up to. Whatever it was, he was probably working on it right now, especially because Lily wasn't able to catch him.

"Need some help?"

Lily opened her eyes. She hadn't realized that she had closed them in her thought. When she opened them, she wished that she hadn't. It was James Potter, asking if she needed the password.

"I don't need anything from you. Besides, what are you doing outside of the Gryffindor Tower? Shouldn't you be up in the boy's dormitory working on whatever you're doing that you're hiding from me?" Lily asked.

"I came out for a stroll. Lovely evening isn't it?" he asked, avoiding the subject completely.

"It would've been if I had remembered the password and I wasn't stuck in front of you."

"Ouch. That hurts. You know, you can't keep shooting me down like this Lily. Pretty soon I'm going to get ideas that you don't like me."

"Really? Because that's the point I've been trying to get across for the past two years now."

"I don't believe that. You're a good person Lily. You like everyone. Including me. You can't lie to me," James said and plastered a big, fake grin on his face. It was disgusting Lily.

"Just give me the password," she said, getting restless. James could always make her feel that way.

"None of that now. When we want something, we need to be polite. Now, what are the magic words?"

"_Expelliarmus!" _Lily said while whipping out her wand. James shot backwards and lost his own wand. When he got up, he chuckled a little bit.

"Not quite what I had in mind, but that's another way to go I suppose."

He gave her the password and they both walked inside. They separated into the dormitories. Lily went to go get ready for bed, and James went to go work on the map some more.

James knocked the special knock that they used and was immediately let in by Peter.

"It's almost finished!" Peter squealed. He was so excited.

"That's good," James said, looking distracted.

"What's up mate?" Sirius asked. He could tell something was up. James seemed a million miles away.

"Nothing."

"Really? Where were you?"

"Out for a walk. Ran into Lily."

"And that's what I was waiting for. What happened? Tell dear Sirius everything."

"Well, she still seems to hate me, and I don't really know why. I want to be her friend again, but she keeps shooting me down. I don't know what else to do. I've tried being witty, smart, nice, funny, I've tried being myself, and nothing seems to work."

"Dude, just give it up. She's obviously not interested. Just move on. She's just another girl. It's not like you were going to marry her or anything."

"Really? You think?"

"Trust me, everyone always says there's someone out there for everyone, but that's a lie. Not everyone has someone. There's not always a guarantee that you're going to have someone to wake up to in the morning. So just keep looking."

"Maybe you're right."

"_Maybe?_ Of course I am. I always am, aren't I?"

"Not particularly."

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Not long after Lily, Julia and Megan came up to the dormitory. They changed into their pajamas as Lily retold her unfortunate run in with James.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that boy has a thing for you," Megan said. This was very un-Megan. What did she care about boys?

"I agree. He seems to have a little something for you," Julia agreed.

"I don't know, I mean, he's a decent enough guy I guess, but I just don't think I'm the kind of girl who's going to have a boyfriend through school. I've got to focus on my studies, you know? I mean, I'm not even sure if I believe in all that love stuff. I mean, is there really someone out there for me? I doubt it, but hey, maybe I'll get lucky," Lily said.

"No matter what someone tells you, there is a person out there that is meant to wake up next to you every morning," Julia said.

"Yeah, but is it James? I don't think so. I don't know if I would even date him."

"Anything less than real, passionate, extraordinary love is a waste of time. Besides, we're only twelve. If and when you realize that James has got the requirements to fill your heart, that's when you should date him. But it would be stupid of you to even consider dating him now. Twelve year olds know nothing about love. Especially the boy species. If he's the one, it won't be for another couple of years. Sorry to disappoint," Megan told. She had a lot of wisdom for her young years. And she was absolutely right.

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Exams had come and gone. Before Lily could realize what was happening, she was packing her trunk and getting ready to head off back to her real home. The one that had an annoying older sister who seemed to hate her. The one that had a mother and a father that cared about her, but never had any time for her. The one that she had spent so much time with her two best friends, Bella and Nathan. The one she did not want to return to. She decided that until she got Megan's letter, she would spend as much time as she could with Bella and Nathan.

Students began loading the train. Lily was looking for the compartment with Megan and Julia. She walked by the compartment holding James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter. She wanted to say something, but just walked on by. She finally found them near the back. She sat with the two girls and they discussed the summer. Megan said that she would go home and ask her parents if they could stay. She would send a letter to each of them telling them the day that they would pick them up.

Lily looked out the window at the country side that was before them. It was beautiful. It began to rain. The skies were gray from the clouds and there was rain pouring down. There was no thunder or lightning, but the rain just kept on coming. They all fell asleep on the ride home.

About an hour later, Lily awoke. She didn't have any idea why, but she did. When she noticed that both of the girls were still sleeping and didn't look like they were waking up anytime soon, she pulled out her journal.

_June 9th,_

_Dear Journal,_

_Another year has passed. I am no longer a second year in the wizarding world. We are riding the train home and Julia and Megan are fast asleep. I couldn't sleep thanks to the rain. I'm still mad at James. Not only for his childish behavior, but now he's taking Remus from me. Those boys have been up to something for a few months now and I just can't seem to catch them in the act. What shocks me is that Remus is involved. I thought that if he was involved, it couldn't be that bad, but I have grown to realize that Remus can be a totally different person when he's with James, Sirius, and Peter. It's been quite a rollercoaster ride, but all in all, I think it was a good experience. Just take something, and if you can learn from it, well, that's all that matters, isn't it?_

_I'm off,_

_Lily. _

She finished her journal entry and tried to go back to sleep. Before she knew it, the train was pulling into the station and she was about home. When the train stopped and let the children off, Lily took her sweet time getting to her family. The only one that came to pick her up was her father.

"Hey pumpkin!" He said.

"Hey Dad," Lily responded.

They rode home. Lily came inside and passed Petunia's room on the way to her own. The door was cracked and she looked inside. She wanted to say hello to her sister, but when she peered in, she realized that she was on the phone. She was on the phone giggling. She must have been talking to a boy. She was fourteen, and it wouldn't have surprised Lily one bit if she was talking to a boy. Lily waltz in anyway.

"Hey sis! Miss me?" Lily said. She felt more confident than ever before.

"Get out of my room! You are the last person I want to talk to. You freak," Petunia answered.

"Sorry, maybe if you were a little nicer I would do what you liked, but you're not, and I'm not. Maybe if you could have a real conversations with me would better your chances," Lily said.

"I'll give you a real conversation. Get out of my room now you little, baby, freak. You don't know anything. I'm on the phone with a boy. I'm trying to get this guy to ask me out on a date. But I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about that now would you? You're just as ignorant as you were when you left here two years ago."

"For your information, I grew up a lot those first two years of school. Like most girls, I sat with my best friends and figured out together how to put on make-up and do our hair. We sat together those years thinking it could only get better, and it will. Sure we had bad times, broken hearts, and fights, but we also learned that throughout it all that these years were going to be the best; that it wasn't about the parties that we went to, the alcohol we're undoubtedly going to drink, or even the boys we're going to date. It wasn't even about how well you did on a test; it was about those nights that we did nothing, and everything, but together. We're the best of friends and we had witnessed each other through too much not to be there for each other. Can you tell me that I am immature? Can you tell me that you've had a moment like that before? Can you tell me you've ever felt that way about anyone? No, because you've only cared about yourself, and you always will," Lily screamed as she stormed out before Petunia could come back and defend herself.

Lily ran to her room and slammed the door. She went to grab the phone so she could call Bella. She dialed her best friend's phone number and asked for Bella when her mother answered. A few seconds later, Bella answered the phone.

"Hello?" She said. She sounded sad.

"Hey Bella! I'm home! You want to hang out tomorrow? And maybe we can call up Nathan!" Lily said, trying to be happy. Bella burst into sobs.

"What's wrong Bells?"

"Haven't you heard?" Bella said between sobs.

"I guess not. I mean, I just got back. What's wrong?"

"Nathan, he died last night."

"He…he…no, I don't believe it."

"Well, believe it, he passed in his sleep."

"When's the funeral?"

"Friday. I'll see you there, yeah?"

"Of course. I'll be there."

"Alright, well, I've got to go. Sorry."

"Okay, bye.

"Bye."

Lily couldn't handle it. One of her best friends in the entire world had died and no one had bothered to tell her about it. Her sister, her parents, no one told her.

When Friday had come, Lily decided she wanted to go to the funeral alone. She did not want her family accompanying her. She thought that wouldn't be fair to Nathan either. She couldn't do that to him.

She arrived and saw Bella. She walked over to stand by her. They both began to cry.

"Are you going to say anything, you know, in front of everyone?" Lily had asked Bella.

"Yeah, I'm going to say a little something, are you?"

"Yeah, I prepared something."

And then the funeral began. Lily couldn't even focus on what was being said. All she could imagine was Nathan's body lying in the coffin, dead.

Bella walked up to stand in front of everyone. She was going to make her speech.

"Nathan was my best friend. I've known him since preschool. Nathan, Lily, and I used to spend every waking moment together. Then Lily switched schools and the three of us spent less and less time together. It was really sad. And then last summer, we all tried to hang out again. Lily had to bail part way through and Nathan, well, we didn't see very much of him after that. I loved him. He was the best friend a girl could have. He showed me that you can find good in anybody. If you give them a chance, the benefit of the doubt, sometimes people disappoint you. Sometimes they surprise you, but you never really get to know them until you listen to what's in their heart. That's what he taught me. And I hope that he taught all of you here something too," Bella finished.

Now it was Lily's turn. She wasn't sure if she could. She didn't want to cry, but she knew she was going to have to.

"Well, it kills me to be here right now. Nathan should not be here like this. I wish I could have said goodbye. I wish I could have at least seen him one last time. The last time I saw him, we didn't exactly leave on good terms and I feel horrible. Nathan was a forgiving guy, and I know that he wouldn't want me to feel guilty about it, but I can't help it. So I guess it's going to have to hurt. I guess I'm going to have to cry and let go of some things I love to get to the other side. I guess it's going to break me down like falling when you're trying to fly. It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life starts with goodbye."

Lily went home that day and couldn't speak to anyone. She didn't want to. She couldn't wait for school to start back up.

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**Alright. What'd you think???? I'm trying to push through all of this because I want to get to fourth year or fifth year when boys and girls like each other. Twelve year olds have a problem where they think the opposite sex has cooties. Review:D**


	15. 3: The Marauders

**Mmk. Well I got quite a few reviews on that one. Let's do that again. :D**

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**Year Three**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Lily awoke on a beautiful morning, though she couldn't appreciate it. She had been so upset every morning. She woke up to thoughts of Nathan. How could he have passed at such a young age? How could she have let that happen? She missed him terribly. She hadn't spoken to any of her family members since she had found out. No one seemed to mind or care either. Petunia was on the phone to no end, her parents worked more than ever, and Bella didn't seem to want anything to do with Lily. Almost like it was her fault. But on this faithful morning, an owl had swooped through Lily's open window. She opened the envelope to a scribble that looked oddly familiar.

_Dear Lily, _

_I hope you're well. I've finally got the thumbs up from my parents and you and Julia can stay for the rest of the summer. We'll transport you to King's Cross Station on September the first so we can leave for our third year at Hogwarts. I'm really excited. Are you? I hope your summer had gone great and I can't wait to see you. We will pick you up Friday afternoon at around two o'clock. I hope that's alright. Miss you! _

_Megan_

Lily scratched the words okay on the back of the same paper and sent the owl back. She felt a little better. She would much rather be with Julia and Megan than her family who seemed not to care at all about her. She sprinted downstairs, wrote her parents a note and left it on the counter so they would read it when they came home.

Lily ran back upstairs and began to pack. She needed to make sure that she had everything for school. She realized that she hadn't gone to Diagon Alley to buy her new school things and hoped that Julia and Megan needed to visit too. She had taken the next three days packing and preparing for her journey. Anything to get away from Petunia was worth it.

When Friday afternoon came, Lily gathered her things and put them in the front room so that she could just leave. She didn't want to stay in her house any longer. Julia showed up at one o'clock because her parents were not going to be home at two and they wanted to make sure Julia safely went with the right people. Julia and Lily went up to Lily's room and Lily told her of her summer. Julia gave her a big hug.

"Thanks Jules, I really needed that. I've gotten nothing from my family. I can't wait to get out of here," Lily said.

When it neared two, the two girls sat in the front room to watch for Megan and her family. They didn't know how they were traveling here. Julia thought by broomsticks, but Lily had thought by floo powder for sure. But two o'clock came and went and Megan never showed up. She didn't show up all day. The girls went back upstairs when it started getting dark.

"Maybe she meant next Friday?" Julia suggested.

But then they heard a knock on the front door. They rushed down the stairs and went to go answer it, but were disappointed when they saw that it was Professor Dumbledore.

"Girls, I have some bad news," he began. "I know that Megan and her family were supposed to pick you up this afternoon and take you to their house, but they were abducted on their way here."

"What do you mean, they were abducted?" Julia asked.

"I mean, Lord Voldemort captured them and we don't know if we'll see them again."

"You mean, they're dead?" Lily asked.

"It's a possibility," Dumbledore said.

Both girls burst into tears. Lily had now lost two friends in the course of one summer. She was beginning to think she was bad luck.

"It is not safe for you to stay with your muggle families. I've found a wizarding home that will suffice for the time being. As for your school things, I've already taken the liberty to retrieve them for you. Let's go."

The girls got up and grabbed their trunks. They headed for the fireplace so they could easily travel. Lily was not listening to where she was supposed to be getting off, so Dumbledore said her destination for her. She still did not hear where she was going. She tried to enjoy her spinning ride to wherever her new home was going to be, but had difficulty. She shot out of a very nice house. When she stood up, a kind looking man brushed her off and took her things. He was clearly the butler.

"I might be able to get used to this," Julia whispered.

Just then, James Potter appeared from around the corner.

"Hello ladies, glad to see you made it alright," he said.

"James Potter?" Lily choked. "_You_ live here?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"A little," both girls said while looking around.

It was a beautiful house. Lily had never seen one like it before. She wanted to explore it, but knew it was too late for that. Perhaps tomorrow. Julia leaned over to say something, but no words came out.

"I think we should play hide and seek tomorrow with James," Lily said.

Julia giggled.

"I agree."

"I'll show you to your rooms," James offered.

They went up the stairs and by several rooms. One room had the door cracked open slightly, but Lily didn't want to look in on something she wasn't supposed to. There was a man in a wheelchair on his way towards the group of kids.

"Hey there kids, enjoying the house?" He asked.

"Guys, this is my dad, Dad, this is Julia and Lily," James introduced.

"I've been waiting for you guys. We're going to have a nice time together," he said with a smile.

Lily had a feeling that she would really like Mr. Potter. He was such a nice guy. They didn't run into Mrs. Potter on the way, and Lily, knowing about the accident that recently happened, wasn't sure if Mrs. Potter was still alive. Julia seemed to be thinking the same thing because not long after, she asked about it.

"James, where's your mother?"

"Probably in the kitchen talking with one of the maids. She likes to do that," he said with a half smile.

The answer satisfied Julia.

"This one is Julia's room," James said and motioned towards it. Her stuff had already been placed inside and Julia ran in.

"I'm calling it a night," Julia said.

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning," Lily told her.

"And this one next door is yours Lily."

It was huge. Way bigger than Julia's. Lily guessed that was because James seemed to like Lily more than Julia. It was beautiful. She even had a balcony. She stood open mouthed at the room and walked in.

"Do you like it?" James asked.

"How could I not? It's amazing. And it's so big!" Lily said.

"I just wanted to let you know that my room is across the hall if you need anything. Don't hesitate to wake me for anything, alright? I know you've been in for a rough summer, but I want you to enjoy yourself, okay?" James said.

He actually seemed to care that she was alright. She suddenly felt thankfulness towards James. For the first time ever.

That night, Lily had a nightmare about Megan and Nathan. She couldn't keep them from her mind. She sprang upwards and began to cry. She walked to the balcony, opened the French doors, and stood on her balcony, looking at the night sky. It got chilly, and Lily was still crying, so she wanted to tell someone.

She reached the hallway and didn't know if she should go next door and tell Julia or to go across the hall and tell James. She thought she should tell Julia, but she didn't want to worry her and give her nightmares too. She ended up going to see James about it. She lightly knocked on the door and waited for him to answer. When he reached the door, he looked as though he hadn't gone to sleep yet.

"Yeah? What's up?" He asked.

His voice was raspy and sleepy. He had large bags under his eyes and his glasses were askew. His jet black hair was as untidy as usual and he was in the process of wrapping a robe around himself.

"I just, you know what, I'm sorry to have woken you, I'm just being stupid," Lily said and headed back toward her room.

"No, no, come in. Tell me what's wrong," James insisted.

Lily clambered into James' room and noticed that he had a very large room also. There were Hogwarts things thrown all over and moving pictures and posters all over the place. She saw Remus, Peter, and Sirius's faces more often than anthing else though. She sat down on a chair to the desk that looked as if it was hardly used.

"I just had a nightmare is all. I shouldn't have woken you," Lily told him.

"Don't be ridiculous. You came in here because there was something bothering you, get it out of the way so that you can go back to sleep."

"Well, I woke up and I stood outside on the balcony for awhile, but that didn't work, and I didn't want to wake up Julia because I didn't want to worry her or give her nightmares, so I thought, I could wake you up…I don't know, I should just go."

"No, please, stay. You can sleep here if you'd like. I mean, that wouldn't be weird or anything, would it?"

"Actually it would be, I think I should go back to my room. I'll see you in the morning."

Lily went back to her room and fell asleep after awhile. But the next morning, was odd. She didn't particularly like staying at the Potter's house. She almost felt unwelcome. Like they were only here because they had no where else to go. She expressed her feelings to Julia one evening when they were getting ready for bed.

"I think it's because we come from average families and we're used to the average treatment. We feel like this is way too much. And they feel like we're not as special as them because we're not used to this or something," Julia said.

"Maybe. But what's been even weirder and stupid, is that the other three guys come over and they continue their mischief that they were causing at school here!"

"I don't know what it is, but hopefully they'll be done with it soon."

That night, Lily was determined to find out something about that project they were involved with. She had seen the boys huddled over a piece of parchment a lot since they've been starting this mischief, and Lily thought their secret plans might have been on it.

When everyone had gone to bed, Lily went across the hall and knocked on James' door. She could hear racket from within and knew that the boys were still up. Hiding the evidence no doubt. When James answered, he was surprised.

"Lily, what, what can I help you with?" He said, sounding nervous.

"Couldn't sleep, is that a problem?"

"No, just unexpected. You know what, I think your room would be more suitable this time."

"You know what, I might be able to achieve the goal by myself," Lily said, somewhat coldly. She was tired and didn't want to put up with this crap. If she wasn't going to be let into the room, there was no point pretending that she had another nightmare.

The next morning, a limo had pulled up to the house early that morning. Lily had seen it from the balcony. She had sat there all night. She didn't sleep. She watched the sun come up and stood looking outside that morning, drinking hot chocolate. She was confused at why a limo would be parked outside. No one famous stepped out. In fact, no one at all stepped out. Lily threw on her robe; made sure her trunk was packed, and headed downstairs. She needed more hot chocolate. Everyone else was bustling about.

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Potter said to Lily as she jogged by her. "You're going to want to start getting ready, I think they want to leave in about a half an hour darling."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Sweetheart, it's the first of September."

Lily sprinted back up the stairs and jumped in the shower. Luckily her trunk and everything was packed already. She put some clothes on and dragged the trunk down to the first floor. She and Julia were the first ones ready. The limo driver offered to put their trunks in the car for them and they agreed.

"Have a wonderful term ladies, I hope you do well and I hope to see you back soon!" Mrs. Potter said kissing each girl on the cheek.

"Lily, it's been great seeing you. I've heard a lot about you and I couldn't wait to meet you," Mr. Potter said, stretching his hand out for her to shake.

Once they had left, Lily leaned over to whisper to Julia.

"Does Mrs. Potter ever give you nicknames like darling, or sweetheart?"

"No, not once. Why?"

Lily thought that she had been getting special treatment. She had the bigger bedroom, Mrs. Potter had given her nicknames, and Mr. Potter had heard a lot about her. She wasn't sure why either.

Soon the boys came down and they were piling in the limo on their way to King's Cross. When they reached the station, the boys actually wanted to sit with the girls. It truly shocked Lily. She guessed that they would have wanted their own compartment so they could talk of their secret importance. But they didn't. Lily pulled Julia aside and said something.

"Don't you think it's odd that they _want_ to sit with us? They're always avoiding us and especially recently they've been keeping good distance because they've been up to something. What's changed?"

"Lily, I think you need to forget about that. Maybe they're being friendly. I mean, we just lost one of our best friends. Maybe they want to help us get over it. I don't know or really care at this point," Julia said.

Lily took a second to think about this. Lord Voldemort had taken Megan's family, but Megan's family was pureblood. Voldemort was interested in taking muggle-borns. Something wasn't right. But Lily didn't have much time to dwell on this fact because the compartment was getting rowdy. The boys seemed to want to make up for lost time on their destructiveness. They tried to make a shot at Severus, but Lily made sure that didn't happen. She got in the way and took the shot. Severus didn't even notice.

When they arrived at the school, they had to unpack and quickly make it to the carriages. They all fit inside one. They discussed their new classes. Lily wasn't sure what she wanted to take, so she signed up for the same ones as Julia and Megan. But Megan couldn't be there to share the experiences with them. Turned out that the four boys signed up for the same classes as Julia and Lily. Lily was a tad frightened. How would she deal with this? They reached the castle and made their way inside and to the Great Hall. Lily sat next to Julia and Remus with James, Peter and Sirius across the table from them. Lily couldn't understand how someone so rude and obnoxious could win her over like he always did. She was on speaking terms with him again, but only because she had to stay with him. She couldn't be mad at him again for no reason now. _He'll do something to make me angry before October. I know it. He always does. And then I'll go back to hating him like I had been before. _Lily thought.

The sorting went good as usual, and before long, Lily found herself walking up the long staircases to the Gryffindor Common Room. Julia had disappeared somewhere along the way. Lily couldn't tell with all the students moving in the same direction. She had reached the portrait of the fat lady and realized that she didn't remember the password, even though she had just heard it a moment ago. A girl that looked oddly familiar showed up, heading in the same direction, but she seemed to have forgotten the password as well.

"Oh no! I always forget the passwords. I'm terrible at remembering things. You wouldn't happen to know what it is, would you Lily?" The girl said. She knew Lily's name, but Lily didn't know hers.

"Sorry, I don't, but how did you know my name?" Lily asked.

"You don't remember? Oh, that's right that was that period when you lost your memory! I'm Alice."

"Oh, I've seen you before, now I sort of remember."

"Bravery," Arthur Weasley said to the Fat Lady to get in.

"Thanks Arthur!" Alice yelled inside.

Lily climbed inside, went to her room, changed her clothes, then came right back down to the common room. She had a lot to think about and she felt much better doing it where she felt she belonged. The common room emptied quickly. Many people wanted to get right to bed so they would be fresh for class tomorrow morning. Lily sat in front of the fireplace thinking about Megan and Nathan and what a travesty it was to lose them both in the same summer. What she really didn't understand was that Megan's family was taken. She was sure that Voldemort was after Muggle-borns. Why would he have gone after Megan? Then she began to fear for Julia's and her own lives.

Footsteps were heard coming down the staircase from the boy's dormitory and out came James Potter in his pajamas. Lily giggled a little at them. He came and sat right down next to her. He didn't speak, but just sat there with her. He reached in to hug her, but she wasn't too keen on it. She let him hug her anyway.

"Are you going to be alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Lily answered.

"Okay, I think you should get some sleep. We've got class tomorrow and you're going to need your rest if you're going to keep up with me," James said.

"Was that a challenge?"

"You bet it was," he answered. He headed up the stairs. And Lily did the same.

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The next morning, Lily slept in a little bit. When she went down to breakfast, there were many girls huddled around each other, giggling. At what, Lily didn't know. They were sitting not too far away, giggling and looking back at the table. James sat down across from Lily. He had waited for her. Everyone else had headed to class already.

"Isn't he _dreamy_?"

"He's GORGEOUS!"

"I hope he's single," the girls swooned. Lily looked at them in confusion. Honestly, those girls needed more self control. Anyone could hear them. James even started going pink because he felt he overheard too much. Then it hit Lily. Those girls were talking _about _James.

"Are those girls," Lily started, pointing at the three girls giggling, but she need not finish. James had confirmed her suspicion. Lily laughed loudly. She was still laughing by time they went up to Transfiguration.

"If you're done," James started. He didn't look happy. He actually looked hurt.

Lily looked around; girls were looking envious, and angry with Lily. Other eyes followed James to his seat.

"You can sit by me James!"

Girls seemed to want James by them at all times. What had changed over the summer? He was the same old James that he was when they left. She thought about it all through Transfiguration. She didn't pay attention once. Maybe it was because he was almost thirteen. That made a difference. The fact he was a third year? Maybe something about his appearance had changed and Lily didn't notice. She just saw the same old, annoying, jerk, James that she'd always known.

She spent all day trying to figure out why James was so appealing all of a sudden. She watched as girls everywhere of every age wanted to be next to him; to talk to him; to be seen with him.

That night, Lily sat in front of the fire with her homework that she had no idea how to do. She stared at the fire, trying to figure out how to do the homework. James showed up once again.

"Having problems?"

"Kind of, I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Why's that?"

"Because I wasn't paying attention in class today."

"At all? Not once today? Lily I'm very disappointed."

"James, I had other things on my mind. It just kind of took over…all day."

"What was so important that you basically missed out on school for it?"

"Actually, I was thinking about—"

Sirius came bolting down the stairs. He jumped the last four just to get to James faster. Apparently something amazing had happened and James needed to be notified immediately.

"Mate! It works! It actually works! We're geniuses! Me and Peter both tried, we're just waiting on you. Hey Lily."

"Hey Sirius."

"Alright, I'll be up in a second."

"Well you have more important matters to tend to, so I'll just go to bed," Lily said. As she stood there, she gave James a once over. Maybe there was something she overlooked. But she didn't have time because he was walking away and saying goodnight. She took a mental picture and headed up to her room where the whole room was asleep. She crawled into bed thinking of James' appearance.

He was very skinny, and had knobbly knees. He had filled out some of his skinniness Lily had determined. He still had those black glasses. And he still had that mess of black hair that never looked good no matter how hard he tried. His face had matured somewhat and didn't look like a boy anymore. He was slowly turning into a teenager, and Lily had been shocked to realize that she realized this. She fell asleep after this, with no thoughts of James so she wouldn't dream about him.

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James made his way upstairs following Sirius. It was the most excited James had ever seen him. Sirius burst into their room and found Remus, but no Peter. Instead there was a rat on the ground. Remus was clapping. Then James looked back at Sirius, but there was a giant black dog in Sirius' place. He jumped up on James and licked his face.

"Alright, alright, down boy," James said. Sirius and Peter transformed back.

"Isn't that amazing!?!?!" Sirius asked.

"I'm just surprised we finished so quickly. I thought we'd take so much more time."

"It's because we're geniuses!" Sirius exclaimed. "Now, for that prank on Snivellus…"

"Hold on cowboy, we're going to have to think this through a little," James said.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, but we'll get to it soon, right?" Sirius asked.

"Eventually."

"You better hope so, because if I don't take my anger out on him, I'm gonna have to take it out on you."

"I think I can take you."

"First we gotta see your animal. Go on, change."

Then James morphed into a beautiful stag. They all marveled at him. He changed back.

"Happy?"

"Yes."

"Now can we go to sleep?"

"Yes."

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That morning Lily awoke to the sound of birds chirping. When she got up, no one else was up. Not even the sun was out yet. She got dressed and sat in front the dim fire and sat. Not long after, James came to find her. What a coincidence.

"Why are you up so early?" She asked him.

"I could ask you the same question."

"Can't sleep anymore. I thought I'd sit awhile before classes. I'm getting really sick of them if you can believe it," Lily told him. She felt like she could open up to him a little more. Maybe it was because he had been so sympathetic when they had stayed together.

"I understand. Been up all night have you?" He asked. Almost like he knew exactly what she had been doing.

"Yeah, actually. How did you know?"

"It's obvious. You've been up all night thinking about me. No need to tell me, I already know," He said. Lily punched him in the arm.

"James Potter, you are very self-centered, do you know that?"

"Yes, but it's alright; all the girls want me anyway," he said with a smug look on his face.

"And why is that? It's like all of a sudden James Potter is this hunk that everyone wants a piece of. What is this all about?" Lily asked. She thought it had something to do with their little scheme they had been pulling last year and throughout the summer.

"To be honest, I have no idea. One day I'm ordinary James Potter and the next day, I'm beefcake," he said with a wide grin.

"Don't flatter yourself," Lily told him and his grin faltered.

"I'm on my way to the top. I've got the perfect friends, everyone loves my pranks, all the girls adore me…what more could I ask for?" James asked.

"Don't forget that you're filthy rich," Lily chimed in.

"That's right. I mean, before long, I'll have myself a lady and I'll be king of the school. And when I'm in my seventh year, all will cry at graduation as I embark on my true mission."

"And what's that?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'm working on that part. But you've got to realize, I'm only a third year, almost thirteen. I've still got at least four to five years ahead of me. I've only got two under my belt at the present moment," he said.

"What ever will we do when you're gone?" Lily said, sarcastically.

"Who knows? Perhaps I'll have to look you up and come and visit unexpectedly. You'd love that, wouldn't you?

"Yes, oh, so very much," Lily said with a smile. Students had started coming down the stairs. Classes would start anytime. Even Sirius was up.

"We might want to start heading to History of Magic, if Sirius is up, we might be late," James said.

"You're right for once," Lily said. She grabbed her bag and followed James out the door.

When they walked into History of Magic, Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, and Julia all sat near each other. While Professor Binns droned on and on as usual, the boys were whispering excitedly, but wouldn't let the girls join in.

"Typical boys," Julia said, yawning. She began to drift off. Now it was all up to Lily to find out.

"I think we should call ourselves The Marauders," Remus piped up.

"What does that even mean?" Peter asked.

"Like…raiders, or people who attack. It's exactly what we do. We attack people, and play a joke on them. And sometimes we raid them for what they've got. Like Filch for example…"

"That's good Remus, I like it. All in favor?" Sirius said. Everyone raised their hand. "Good, that settles that. We can leave our name places. We should all come up with nicknames. It'll make it more fun. And easier to identify during a mission."

"Sirius I think you're way too into this," James said, laughing.

"Shove off, anyway, I think Peter, since you're a rat, you should be…Wormtail because your tail does look kind of like a worm," Sirius said.

"Okay, alright, well, I think, Remus should be called Moony because at the full moon Lupin goes loony," Peter said.

"I like it, very original. Well, I think James should be Prongs since his form is a stag," Remus decided.

"Very nice, Moony. I believe that leaves Sirius, and, as he is a dog, Padfoot would be a practical name, I think," James dubbed.

"Wonderful. Now that we all have identities, let's cause havoc!" Sirius exclaimed quite loudly. People around glanced at them, excited that life was to be brought to History of Magic, but they were wrong as the Marauders were silent the rest of the class.

As they were exiting and on their way to Care of Magical Creatures, Lily pulled James aside, she wanted to ask him what Sirius was yelling about, but never got the chance to. As they were in the Entrance Hall, a Ravenclaw fourth year screamed from the top of the stairs.

Peeves had been chasing her and anyone else nearby that would listen. He was screaming as well.

"ATTACKS! THERE HAVE BEEN ATTACKS AGAINST THE SCHOOL!" He kept yelling. Professor McGonagall showed up and tried asking him what he was talking about.

"Peeves, what do you mean 'attacks on the school'?"

"COME LOOK!!!"

Everyone nearby abandoned their duties to follow Peeves and Professor McGonagall to the scene of the supposed crime. They walked up to the trophy room where nothing seemed to be wrong.

"Peeves, what are you talking about?"

"Read them McGoogle!" Peeves said, impatiently. Professor McGonagall leaned over and began reading each of the trophies. They were all the same except every name that had once been carved into the trophy had been replaced with the same name.

"This Special Award to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry goes to: THE MARAUDERS," Professor McGonagall said on each trophy. There were giggles and snickers from all throughout when everyone heard what was going on.

"Alright everyone, get on to your classes. There's nothing to see here, just some pranksters who think it's funny to give themselves a name in this place. If I find out who did this, you will be severely punished!" She said. She had never been in the position to tell them that someone would be in trouble if she found them. She had always been able to just hand the punishment out. No one had ever been secretive about it like this before. No one. Lily was curious. Who might these characters be? Why did they want to remain anonymous? Lily was going to find out. _But you did say that about James' little scheme. You never did find out what that was about, did you Lily? Shut up Lily, this is not the time for that. We've got to find out who did this and why. It sounds like a good project for now, doesn't it?_ Lily thought. She often had fights with herself.

Lily reached the Entrance Hall again, James was still in sight, walking with his three best friends, when everyone stopped to listen to the announcement being made. The voice was unrecognizable, but the message was clear all the same.

"THE MARAUDERS WILL LIVE ON FOREVER!!!" There were cheers all through the castle.

"The Marauders will be identified sooner or later," Lily mumbled.

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**Alright, I hope that was a good chapter. I'm not really sure about it. But, I do say that about most of the chapters. As I was writing this I realized that there are certain times of their Hogwarts career that they specifically make the map and everything, but it was too late. If I get anything else wrong, please feel free to let me know and I'll try to fix it as best I can, but I can't make any promises. The fact that you take the time to review it just makes me happy. I hope you enjoy this, and if you don't write me anyway and tell me. :D thanks. **


	16. 3: Saving Snivellus

**Alright, so no reviews on that one. :/ dang, I was hoping for some. I hope to keep writing this story, but it's been getting awfully hard lately. I hope to finish the story. But seeing as how we're only in the third year, we may have to speed things up a bit. :D **

**Year Three**

**Chapter Sixteen.**

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The Marauders pulled pranks every where you looked. It was almost as if that's all they had time for. Lily was very surprised that James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus weren't more upset by this. These Marauders were taking all of their glory of prank making. Something was very fishy. She was going to find out once and for all who these Marauders were and why her friends weren't upset about them stealing their glory.

That night was a full moon. Lily knew because she sat and stared out the window, waiting to run into one of her friends. She must have stared at that moon for hours before Remus appeared, leaving the common room.

"Remus!" Lily called. He didn't look very happy to see her. "Where are you going?"

"Uh…hospital wing, you know, I'm ill yet again," he replied, and Lily couldn't argue that. He looked terrible.

"Would you like me to walk you up there? You look like you could use some help."

"No, it's alright; I've done it many times before. It looks a lot worse that it is. I promise you."

"If you're sure…" she said, watching Remus leave. He nodded.

"…You've got to be quieter than that or someone will hear you Peter!" a voice whispered. There was nobody in the common room other than Lily. Yet she knew that voice all too well and she knew that that body had an invisibility cloak that could be concealing them at that very moment.

"James Potter, I hope that's not you I hear trying to sneak out of this common room after hours," Lily said. James then appeared from under his cloak, showing Lily that he was indeed sneaking out with Sirius and Peter.

"Where might you be going so late at night? And without Remus?" Lily asked.

"Well, Remus is a bit ill, nothing unusual, and we have some business to take care of," James replied rather smoothly, but Lily didn't buy it.

"Really now? Would you mind if I spoke to you alone for a moment James?"

"I guess, I mean, as long as it's quick. I don't have much time," he said. Sirius and Peter were looking very disappointed at this point. "You know what? Just go without me, I'll be along in a moment. You know what to do."

"You sure mate? Then you better take this," Sirius told him, handing him a blank piece of parchment.

"Alright, I'll meet you down there in say, ten minutes."

"Sure thing," Sirius said, looking cheerful.

"What did you want to talk about Lily?" James asked.

"If I ask you this question, do you promise to be completely and totally honest with me?"

"Lily, that's promising a lot. I can't always promise something like that. You know me, I can't commit to anything."

"Just this once?"

"Maybe."

"Where are you going tonight?"

"Out."

"James."

"That's honest!"

"That wasn't the question I needed you to be honest about."

"Keep going then."

"Do you know who the Marauders are?"

"Yes."

"Are you and your friends the Marauders?"

"That question I cannot answer. I'm sorry."

"I won't tell anyone if you are. I just need to know. If you tell me, I promise not to tell a soul. Not even Julia. No one."

"If you promise to keep that completely to yourself…yes, we are. And we're going out to plan for a prank that will be executed on Friday we're hoping. If all goes well. But you can't even tell the others that you know. I'll tell them when they're ready to hear it."

"Okay, this is totally a Lily-James secret," Lily said, sticking out her pinky. James hooked his around hers and they pinky promised on it.

"Now I've got to split; with Sirius in charge, who knows what havoc might be caused."

"Would you mind if I came with you? I mean, to see what it's like?"

"That's a no-can-do. You see, tonight's mission is going to get a little dangerous. I can't tell you why though. That wasn't part of the deal. Maybe some other time."

"How do you plan to get down to—wherever you're going—without getting caught? Teachers and Prefects prowl the corridors at night."

"I've got my ways."

"James Potter, always so secretive."

"That's what the ladies love about me."

"No it's not; though I still haven't figured out what it is about you that everyone suddenly is infatuated with…"

"That's what you should do tonight then. Sounds like time well spent to me."

"Of course it does."

At that moment, Peter bolted back into the common room, out of breath, with the invisibility cloak just barely clinging to him. He was clutching a stitch in his side and gasping for air, but trying to alert James that there was a problem. He finally caught enough breath for him to explain what was going on.

"Sirius got a big head about being in charge. Snape overheard him talking about visiting Remus back in the Shack and Snape started following us a little too closely. We need to get back down there before Snape gets himself killed!" This made very little sense to Lily, but made all the sense in the world to James who realized that meant and went to save Snape. The two of them tore out of the common room, leaving Lily to try and figure out exactly what just happened. When she realized they weren't coming back anytime soon, she went up to bed, sure to hear about it in the morning.

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Peter grasped the invisibility cloak and sprinted underneath it. James didn't care if anyone saw him. He needed to get to the Whomping Willow as fast as possible. He couldn't let Snivellus die because of their careless mistakes. From what Peter had told him, to anyone else it wouldn't have made much sense, but really happened was while Peter and Sirius were loudly walking underneath the invisibility cloak, they ran into Snape. Sirius wanted to mess with Snape a little and started talking very loudly about Remus and where he was tonight. Snape had always tried figuring out where Remus went when he was ill because he was most definitely not in the hospital wing. Snape couldn't help but follow them, and Sirius lead him into the Whomping Willow, where Remus, undoubtedly a werewolf by now, would be waiting for the others to arrive. If Snape found out about Remus, he would tell the whole school and Remus and the others would be expelled. Or worse, Remus would react to Snape and might accidentally kill him. It wasn't a smart idea to drag him there, and Sirius would have a stern talking to when they were out of this situation.

When they made it outside, James immediately turned into a stag. He didn't care who saw him. As long as everyone was alive by the end of this. Peter ran and pushed the knob at the tree and let the both of them inside. Sirius could see Snape peering through the door that was ajar that Remus always stayed in. Sirius was inside with Remus, in dog form, calming him down. James changed back into his human form, grabbed Snape as he opened the door, and sprinted out of there as Remus the werewolf charged after them. They just made it out alive. They made it outside the Whomping Willow, no longer afraid anything was coming after them. They were safely inside the Shrieking Shack. Snape was laying flat on his back, his eyes wide open, his breathing uneven. James was checking to make sure he was okay.

Sirius and Peter emerged moments later, checking to see if Snivellus was really alright. They were back to their human form, so Snape would never know that they were animagus. So Snape couldn't tell anyone that they were animagus. They were illegal animagus.

"Is Remus going to be fine without us?" James asked Sirius harshly.

"Yeah, he'll be alright. Is Snivellus going to be alright?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know. I'm taking him up to Dumbledore. I suggest the two of you come with me. I think it would be easier to explain with you there since it was your fault," he said. He was very upset. Sirius had never seen him so angry.

"Mate, I—"

"I don't want to hear it Sirius. Just tell Dumbledore when we get there. That's the last thing I want to hear right now."

So they carried Snape back up to the castle and up several floors to the hospital wing. James laid him on a bed and asked Madam Pomfrey if she could help them fetch the Headmaster. It was vital that he knew what happened to Severus. She quickly went to get him and before long, they were both striding back into the wing, looking frightened at what was going on.

"Boys, might I ask what has happened here tonight?" Dumbledore asked, calmly, but urgently. James looked at Sirius who looked at the floor.

Sirius told him the tale of what had happened. Of what they had set out to do, and what had gotten Severus involved. How it was all his fault. The only thing he left out was that they had been going down to visit Remus every month and that they did it while being illegal animagus.

"Boys, that was very dangerous for not only you, but Severus here as well. I advise you not to do such a thing ever again. As for you Severus," the Headmaster added, looking at Snape lying on the bed. "I must ask you not to tell any of your classmates or family members about Remus. If anyone knows, they will require me to remove him from the school, which I cannot do. He has one of the top grades in his year, and to remove him would be a disgrace to the wizarding world."

Snape nodded his head and let his head loll back onto the pillow.

"Now I think you three can head back up to your dormitories and head on to bed. You have classes tomorrow," Dumbledore said and swept out of the wing. The boys followed him out.

"Are you honestly that thick?" James said to Sirius once the Headmaster was out of earshot.

"I thought that it would be a good prank to pull on old Snivellus there. I mean, come on, it sounded pretty appealing, didn't it Peter?" Sirius asked. Peter shrunk away, not wanting to get involved.

"He could have died!" James whispered.

"But he didn't, did he?" Sirius spat back.

"That's not the point, Sirius. The point is there was too big of a risk! He could have died if Peter hadn't come and gotten me! You were being careless and reckless and there's no way you could have handled Remus on your own like that. You got very lucky!"

"James, I'm not stupid, I knew what I was—"

"No you didn't! I know you wanted to get at Snivellus! I know that you're competitive! I know that it's something you've been waiting for for a long time! I _understand_, but you've got to realize that you can only go so far with a joke! If it gets too dangerous—"

"So what? Are you saying that if Lily wanted to come down and have a quick look around you would deny it?"

"That's _exactly_ what I'm saying."

"Come off it. You fancy her so much there's no way you'd ever tell her no," Sirius said smugly.

"First of all, I don't _fancy _her. And second of all, yes I would That exact situation happened tonight. She wanted to come and see what we were up to. She figured it out that we're the Marauders. That's all she knows. She knows nothing of Remus'…nightly habits, and she knows nothing of our illegal helpfulness. She asked to come down here tonight and I told her no. You know why? Because I knew this was something that only the four of us could share. That hopefully no one else would ever have to know. And the fact that it was way too dangerous for anyone but someone as trained as we are. Or as brave come to think of it…"

"You're joking. You've got to be. I don't believe it."

"You better believe it. I wouldn't betray you guys like that. Not for a girl. Especially not for one that I don't even like," James said, defensively.

"Whatever you say mate. Whatever you say." Sirius said when they entered the common room. Lily was gone.

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The next morning, Lily awoke to a sunny day. She went down to breakfast, seeing that Julia was already down there. There was a group of girls sitting near by that were giggling and gasping and staring dreamily at James yet again. Lily was sickened by this, but she listened a little harder, for this time, they were not talking about how dreamy he was. They were talking of a heroic story…in which James was the hero.

"…And James ran in there and grabbed him before that…that…_thing_ ate him. He's really lucky James was there."

"What do you think they're talking about?" Lily asked Julia.

"I've been trying to listen for awhile. They've been talking about it all morning. From what I've gathered, something went down last night and a third year Slytherin—I think his name was Snape or something—" at this Lily choked on her orange juice. "He was in danger and James went in and saved him from some monster. I think it was at the Whomping Willow to be honest. Anyway, everyone's making James out to be this great hero, and he's just tired of hearing about it."

At this, Lily and Julia both looked at James who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else but here. His face was reddening; he must have felt all the eyes looking at him. Then they looked at the girls whispering about him. They're eyes looked frosted over because they were so lost in dreamland with James. This frightened Lily. She didn't want to be anywhere near those girls. She got up and went back to her dormitory to retrieve her things to go to class. She wanted to hear nothing more of James being a hero.

Unfortunately, that's all she heard about for the next few days. James this and James that. Lily was sick of it. She hadn't even spoken to James. She didn't want to hear him talk about it as it was something that he would most definitely do. But when she heard about it, her eyes averted to James, as did everyone else's. He didn't seem to like this attention. His face would go beat red, and he would make sure not to meet eyes with anyone that was discussing his tale of heroism.

The rest of the Marauders didn't seem very happy about all this attention either. But they weren't mad at James. They were all mad at one particular person, but Lily couldn't figure out whom.

That night in the common room, James had attempted to talk to Lily. He had made a beeline right for her, but Lily was quicker than she looked. She made it out the portrait hole. She headed towards the Entrance Hall, for she had time to wander around before she had to be in the common room. When she reached the Entrance Hall, however, she met the last person she really wanted to see. Next to Potter, that is.

She met Severus Snape.

"Lily, wait up!" he called. Lily slowed down a bit. She had a few words saved up inside her for him.

"Lily, where've you been? I've been trying to talk to you for weeks now. I never see you anymore."

"I've been busy with my school work."

"Lily, come on, I thought we were supposed to be friends? Best friends?" Snape asked.

"We _are _Sev, but I don't like some of the people you're hanging out with! I'm sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber! _Mulciber!_ What do you see in him, Sev, he's creepy! D'you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?"

Lily had reached a pillar and leaned against it, looking up into the thin, sallow face.

"That was nothing," said Snape. "It was a laugh, that's all—"

"It was Dark Magic, and if you think that's funny–"

"What about the stuff Potter and his mates get up to?" demanded Snape. His color rose again as he said it, unable, it seemed, to hold in his resentment.

"What's Potter got to do with anything?" said Lily.

"They sneak out at night. There's something weird about that Lupin. Where does he keep going?"

"He's ill," said Lily. "They say he's ill—"

"Every month at the full moon?" said Snape.

"I know your theory," said Lily, and she sounded cold. "Why are you so obsessed with them anyway? Why do you care what they're doing at night?"

"I'm just trying to show you they're not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are."

The intensity of his gaze made her blush.

"They don't use Dark Magic, though." She dropped her voice. "And you're being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Willow, and James Potter saved you from whatever's down there—"

Snape's whole face contorted and he spluttered, "Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends' too! You're not going to—I won't let you—"

"_Let _me? _Let _me?"

Lily's bright green eyes were slits. Snape backtracked at once.

"I didn't mean—I just don't want to see you made a fool of—He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!" The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. "And he's not…everyone thinks…big Quidditch hero—" Snape's bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent, and Lily's eyebrows were traveling father and farther up her forehead.

"I know James Potter's an arrogant toerag," she said, cutting across Snape. "I don't need you to tell me that. But Mulciber's and Avery's idea of humor is just evil. _Evil_, Sev. I don't understand how you can be friends with them."

Snape said nothing, but as they walked back towards the castle in silence, Snape definitely had a new spring in his step. It seemed that as soon as Lily had insulted James, all was right with the world in Snape's mind. As long as James wasn't the big hero to Lily as he was to everyone else, that was all that mattered.

Lily made it back up to the Gryffinor common room alone. She thought over what had happened, and what Snape had told her about the other night. He had said Potter was just saving his neck and his friends'. Is that what they were going to go do that night? They were on their way out of the common room when Lily had stopped them. Lily was disgusted. She couldn't believe that they would do such a thing.

But then she realized, they very well _would _do such a thing. Lily marched through the portrait hole and straight to bed, not stopping to say one word to James who was still sitting, waiting for her.

She went to her dormitory and slammed the door shut behind her. The only person in the room already was Julia, who was just getting in from her shower.

"Something the matter?" She asked.

"Potter."

"Oh, so nothing new?"

"No."

"I suggest you get to bed and get some sleep. Maybe by tomorrow something amazing will happen and it'll all be better." Julia offered.

"I doubt it."

Lily had started using as little words as possible when speaking. That's how you could tell she was mad. She couldn't even speak her mind she was so fumed.

"I'm going to take a shower."

"Alright, maybe you'll relax a little."

"Maybe."

She went in there, and realized that it was empty. Where was everyone? They weren't in the common room, they weren't in the dormitory, and they weren't in the bathroom. Where else could they be? This was such a confusing night that Lily didn't bother figuring out where they were and just jumped in. When she had finished and went back to her room, Julia had gone. Not to bed, but gone.

"Probably with everyone else in this damn school," Lily said to herself.

She then settled in for bed and fell into an uneasy sleep, yet again.

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**Right so, good? I will tell you that the section where Lily is talking to Snape outside is from Deathly Hallows in case you were wondering why it sounded so familiar. (: alright so REVIEW!! I love them. (:**


	17. 3: Detention with the Marauders

**Well here we go with the next segment of Potter and Evans.**

**Year Three**

**Chapter Seventeen**

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Lily woke up that morning before anyone else. She looked over and saw that Julia was safely in her bed. She debated waking her up and asking where she went the night before, but decided against it. Instead, she got dressed, and began gathering her items for class. She went down to breakfast early, and sat in thought for a long time. She was gazing and drinking orange juice, when suddenly, someone sat down across from her. It was James Potter. Lily started getting up to leave, but James stopped her. 

"Excuse me, but I don't want to be anywhere near you," Lily said, somewhat politely.

"Really? Because lately, everyone wants to be near me after last week. Why do you have to be different?" James asked, holding Lily's arm.

"Because, I know the real you. I know that you just wanted a joke and it almost resulted in Severus' death! I can't believe you would go that far for a joke, but apparently—"

"Are you kidding me? You were there with me when Peter came back and said that something went wrong. That Snivellus was in trouble! How could you think that I would deliberately try to kill someone? I thought you of all people would understand!"

"James! That was a risky thing to do! You can't just—"

"It wasn't me! It was Sirius! You've got to believe me!"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I don't. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got somewhere else to be."

"Oh really? And where might that be?"

"Away from you, that's for sure."

Lily tore away as fast as she could. She didn't want to be anywhere near James. James the killer. That just didn't suit him. She knew that it couldn't have been on purpose. She couldn't believe that James would intentionally try to kill Snivellus. But she ran away all the same. 

She went to Transfiguration and sat there until class began. She made sure that James was on the opposite side of the classroom before sitting down. 

As she walked out of the Transfiguration classroom, she had a break and then lunch, so she thought she'd go up to the common room and get some studying in. But when she reached the door, she was ambushed. She couldn't see who had her, or where she was going, but she was frightened. If she was quiet, she could hear them speak, but she wouldn't stop flailing about.

"Hold-still-Lily!" One voice said.

"She's getting heavy!" Another voice said.

"This was a bad idea," A third voice said.

"Quiet down, someone will hear us," the first voice spoke.

"Does it really matter?" The second voice said.

"Do you want to get caught taking a third year, bound and gagged to a mysterious place under an invisibility cloak? Don't you think that'll look a little suspicious?" the first voice said, and Lily suddenly knew who had her. There was only one person that she knew of that owned an invisibility cloak. 

"This is suspicious! I don't like it at all," The third voice said. Lily recognized it as Remus.

"Remus! Make them let me go!" Lily screamed, but to no avail. Her mouth was covered with something. All the marauders heard were mumbles. 

So James had sent his lackeys to come and fetch her so that he could talk with her. Or for some other reason. Lily was unsure, but if it was bad enough where they were sneaking under an invisibility cloak with her bound and gagged, it wasn't good. Lily was actually frightened. 

"Alright, so now what? What are we supposed to do with her?" Remus asked.

"We're supposed to take her to Prongs. You know that," Sirius replied. 

"Yes, I know that. What I meant was where is Prongs?" Remus asked. 

"Right, um, well, that's a problem, isn't it?" Sirius said, his voice faltering.

"You don't know where we're supposed to take her?! Peter's voice came. "She's getting heavy! We can't just stand here, trying to figure out where to take her! She's a smart girl! She's going to realize that it's us! She might even be able to get herself out of here! We need to go and we need to go now!"

"He's right, Padfoot, we've got to get a move on. Let's just let her go. We have no real use for her, and we don't know what Prong's use for her is, and we don't know where Prongs is. We'll just have to devise a different plan for Prongs to get his use of her," Remus said. 

"But if we let her go, she'll see that it was us! And that'll be bad!" Sirius said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she already knew it was us," Remus told him. Lily grinned, though no one could see it. He gave her too much credit sometimes. 

"Alright, this is what we're going to do, we're going to drop her, and leave her for someone else to unbind her. That way she won't see it was us, and we can get out free," Sirius said.

"If she already knows it's us, then that plan just sucks. Then she'll be left for hours waiting for someone to find her. She won't be very happy with us," Peter chimed in.

"But how do we know if she knows it's us?" Sirius asked.

"Take a chance."

"Fine, let her go," Sirius said, reluctantly. 

Lily felt the six hands that were all holding on to her slowly let her down to the ground, and pull off the tape covering her mouth and the blindfold covering her eyes. She looked up at the three of them with no surprise. She was smarter than she looked. 

"I told you she knew it was us," Remus said to Sirius as he held out his hand to Lily so he could let her up.

"Well, there was always the possibility that she didn't know. Sometimes you have to think of both sides Remus. If everyone thought the same way, well, we'd have a problem," Sirius said.

Lily didn't say a word. She wanted to know why they had kidnapped her, but she knew that they didn't even know why they needed to. There was no point in her asking any questions or getting mad at any of them. They were just following instructions. 

"You're pretty quiet there Lily, are you sure you're alright?" Remus asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Why aren't you yelling at us? That's what you always do," Sirius said. Lily stifled a giggle.

"Because I overheard you on the trip down here. You don't know why you had to kidnap me, you don't know where you were supposed to take me, you don't know anything. It wasn't your fault. I have no reason to yell at you," Lily said.

"Right, well, um, okay. Whatever you say Lily."

Lily made her way back up to the portrait hole, but decided she wasn't exactly in the mood to go back to the common room anymore. She headed off to the library to get some studying done. When she arrived there, she saw James Potter, and immediately headed the other way. She wasn't quick enough.

"Lily!" He yelled and jogged after her. Girls that saw him sighed. Lily was disgusted. 

"I'm not speaking to you," Lily said to James without looking at him.

"What for?"

"For attempting to kidnap me maybe?" Lily said, whipping around to look at him.

"What, that? That was…nothing," James said, trying to cover it up.

"What was so important that you had to **kidnap** me?" 

"Well, you weren't talking to me anyway, and I really needed to talk to you. But you wouldn't give me the chance!"

"Because…" Lily couldn't finish. She really didn't have a reason. Her reason was for stealing attention again. For playing the hero, attempting to save Severus after an attempt on his life. 

"Exactly. You don't even have a legitimate reason to be mad at me! Come on Lily, for old time's sakes?" He gave Lily a puppy-dog face. 

"No, I can't Potter. I won't. You can't just parade around the school like you own it. You can't take advantage of people like you do. I can't stand the way you treat Peter. And he's one of your friends!" 

"That's different, Lily. He enjoys it," said James, lying through his teeth.

"Another thing I don't appreciate, **lying**," Lily said with a smirk.

"When do I ever lie to you?"

"You lie to everyone Potter. I'm sick of all of it! Leave me alone!" 

Lily whipped around to leave, but James grabbed a hold of her arm. She couldn't go anywhere. She turned and looked James in the face. He looked truly sorry for making her feel so terrible about all of the things he did. But Lily wouldn't buy it. Not again. 

"Lily, you're making this very hard for me," he said.

"Making what hard for you?"

"I'm trying to be your friend. I'm trying to be a good person. I'm doing all of this for you. Why can't you see that I am a good person? That trouble happens to follow me everywhere I go?"

"I would have, until you just fed me that line full of bull crap," Lily said, yanking her arm away and sprinting down the hall. She was going up to the common room to grab her stuff for her next class, Potions.

She reached the Fat Lady, gave her the password, but when the Fat Lady swung open, James was standing there, holding Lily's bag. Her books, quills, parchment and ink for Potions and Herbology. Her next two classes. 

"Give me my stuff Potter!" 

"Not until you forgive me Evans."

"I can't forgive an arrogant toerag such as you. It wouldn't be right."

"Evans, this is the deal, you forgive me and get your things back, or don't forgive me, and fail Potions and Herbology. It's a simple choice, really."

"I don't have to take this. I'll tell Professor Slughorn. You know how much he favors me. He won't have this nonsense!" Lily ran to the dungeons to tell Professor Slughorn, but when she reached the entrance to the dungeons, she met James Potter, blocking the entry. She hunched over to catch her breath and then asked:

"How did you get here so fast?"

"That I cannot tell you. I can't trust you with the simplest information."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean; now it's time to forgive me."

"Never."

"Suit yourself."

"Miss Evans! Mister Potter! So good to see you both! I hope you're not causing a hold-up for the students on their way to my class. What's this you've got here m'boy?" Professor Slughorn had appeared, emerging from the dungeons before his class. 

"Oh, it's nothing really just—"

"My bag!" Lily said. 

"Really now? Now, what would Mister Potter be doing with your bag full of schoolwork I wonder?" Slughorn had asked.

"Keeping me from my favorite class," Lily said with extra emphasis on favorite.

"You heard the lad, give her the bag Potter," Slughorn said. "Detention. Tomorrow night. My office Potter."

"Great, now you landed me another detention with that man. You had to go sucking up, didn't you?" James said as Professor Slughorn waddled off into the Entrance Hall.

"Well, how else was I going to get my bag back?" Lily said with a grin.

"In a way that wouldn't land me detention. Such as forgiving me."

"That would be awful for me. And too much for your ego. I don't think you could take that. Maybe since it would have been forced you could have taken it, but I wanted to keep it on the safe side."

"Thanks a ton Evans, thanks a ton."

"Hey, maybe you'll get lucky and the rest of the marauders will get themselves in detention tomorrow night too." Lily said as she descended the steps into the dungeon. 

"That's not a bad idea! Thanks Evans!"

"What do you mean, 'thanks'? That wasn't a suggestion!" 

But it was too late. James had disappeared, undoubtedly in search of the rest of his friends to beg them to get detention for tomorrow night so he wouldn't be alone. And Lily was quite right. For when Potions began, the marauders tried to cause as much mischief and mayhem as possible, so they could get detention. James was left out, seeing as how he already had detention. 

"BOYS!" Professor Slughorn yelled, extremely frustrated. "I have had enough of this rough-housing! Detention, my office, tomorrow night. You can join Potter."

The four boys silently celebrated when Slughorn wasn't looking. Lily felt disgusted yet again. Who would try to land themselves into detention? Lily had a feeling she knew where their futures were…nowhere. She smiled to herself knowing that she would do great things while they would be living on the streets of London, scrounging around for any coins, muggle or wizard. 

Lily put her cauldron away after turning in her final potion that was perfectly mixed. She saw James standing up at the desk turning his potion in, but taking an extremely long time. What was he doing? Lily looked around and saw that he was changing the name on someone else's potion and claiming it as his own. Lily walked right up to him to give him a stern talking to and tell him to switch them back.

"James Potter! I cannot believe—"

He was switching his potion with hers. Her beautifully baby blue potion now had the name "James Potter, third year" written on it. And her name was placed on an ugly brown muck of a concoction. 

"Lily! What are you…Did you…This isn't what it looks like!" James stuttered.

"It looks like you were switching you potion with mine," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Okay, it is what it looks like."

"Potter! We just talked about this minutes before this class started! How thick can you get?" 

"No, you're misunderstanding the situation. You see—"

"No, I'm afraid I don't see, but I really don't need to. You will switch our potions back right this second James Potter!" 

James hung his head as he switched the labels, yet again, back to how they originally were. As he was doing this, he dropped them both on the floor.

"Oh for goodness sakes, let me do it," said Lily. She bent down, picked up the labels and began to switch them again. 

"Miss Evans! I cannot believe my eyes!" Professor Slughorn had shown up behind her and saw her switching the labels. "You of all people should not have the need to switch potions with someone! Especially someone who does as poor as Mister Potter! But I daresay that he has come out the winner in this race."

James grinned widely.

"No, Professor! You don't understand!" 

"I understand perfectly Miss Evans. Detention tomorrow night. You can join Potter and his friends." 

"I cannot believe you just stood there and didn't back me up!" Lily said to James as Slughorn left. 

"I would have if you hadn't landed me in detention earlier. It's called payback. Sucks, doesn't it?"

"I've never had detention before! This will ruin my record!" 

"Get over it toots. I'll see you later," James said as he headed out to the greenhouses with the other marauders who were laughing at Lily's situation. Lily just stood there, dumbfounded. 

"I hate that boy!" 

--

The next evening, Lily made her way down to the dungeons alone for her detention. As she left she saw the marauders sitting on the couches in the common room, waiting until the very last possible second before going to detention. 

She reached the door to Professor Slughorn's office and knocked. There was movement inside, and suddenly the door opened wide. Wide enough to show all of Professor Slughorn. 

"Miss Evans! So good to see you! Terribly sorry about the detention, but when you break the rules…well, you know how it is. If you'll sit here and wait for the others," he said, motioning her inside his office. 

Soon after sitting down, she heard several pairs of feet make their way towards the door. 

"That'd be the others," Slughorn said, while sitting up. There was a knock on his door. 

"Hello m'boys! Come in, come in," he said. And in came the four marauders. Lily felt her face twist in disgust and turned her head away. 

"Alright, now that you're all here, I want to you clean out the storage cupboard. It's been quite a mess since the students have been going in and borrowing items. After you're done with that, you can leave. That is all," Slughorn said. 

The five Gryffindors stood up and headed towards the Potions classroom. Slughorn stayed behind in his office and once they closed the door, they could hear loud music and commotion going on in there. They all stared at his door with odd looks on their faces before making their way deeper into the dungeons.

They reached the potions classroom, to the very front of the class where Slughorn's desk was, and went to the storage cupboard. It was full of potion ingredients for students who were fresh out of their own ingredients. Lily opened up the cupboard and nothing was where it was supposed to be. She began pulling everything out of the cupboard and setting them on the floor. She was going to sort everything outside the cupboard and then put them where they belonged. When she realized she was the only one doing work, she looked over to see where the others had gone. They were all sitting in the front row, talking casually. 

"Excuse me, but I believe Professor Slughorn told us to clean out the storage cupboard!" Lily yelled to them.

"Yeah, but Slughorn's not here, is he? He's off partying in his office, isn't he? He never said he was going to check to make sure we did it, did he?" Sirius said.

"Don't you think he'll get around to checking it? Maybe tomorrow? And then we'll have detention again when he finds out we didn't do it!" Lily rebutted.

"Well then you can do it, and we won't have detention again. Really, it doesn't bother us in the least. We could have detention every week and not have a problem with it," James told her. 

"That's ridiculous!"

"That's the truth," James said, walking over to her. 

He bent down to eye level with Lily. She kept her face as clear as stone. She wasn't going to let James Potter break her down. She knew better. 

"Evans, I know you're a goody-two-shoes, and I know how you feel about detention, especially when it comes to potions. You're a master at it. Easily one of Slughorn's favorites. But if you don't want detention again, go on and keep on doing what you're doing. If you don't, not only will we have detention, but you will too. We don't care if we have to be here for another week for not doing our job. Cleaning the storage cupboard isn't going to teach me a lesson. I did what I did because I needed to talk to you. That was your fault for not listening. And the others, they don't need to be taught a lesson. They're just here to keep me company. You on the other hand, may need to learn your lesson. Switching potions with me, honestly. What were you thinking Evans? But cleaning out the storage cupboard isn't going to help you learn your lesson, is it? That's why, we're not doing it. Maybe if Slughorn was sitting here, breathing down our necks about it, things would be different. But he isn't. So we don't have to do anything. We could bust out of here right now and no one would even care," James said.

"You're pathetic Potter," Lily told him. "You just can't handle discipline. _You _switched my potions. _You_ should be here. None of _us_ should be here."

"Sure thing Evans, sure thing," James said while standing up and walking away. 

The Marauders decided that they didn't deserve detention, and slipped right out without doing a thing. Lily sat there, all alone in the Potions classroom, surrounded by ingredients. She finished her job and headed back up to the common room. She was exhausted, so she went to climb the steps of her dormitory. She was stopped by James Potter.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"To congratulate you," he said with a smile.

"On what?" 

"Finishing the job. That took guts my friend. Weren't you a little lonely?" 

"Extremely, but it was better than having _you_ there."

"Ouch, that hurt. Anyway, that's not the only reason I'm giving you a congrats," James said and pulled out a scroll from his back pocket. "'You are cordially invited to be a member of the 'Slug Club'. Our first party will be on the 13th of April. Please let Professor Slughorn know if you will not be able to attend. Congratulations.' 

"Give me that," Lily said, grabbing for the scroll. 

She read it over and over. Professor Slughorn had created a club called the Slug Club, and he wanted Lily to be a part of it. She didn't exactly know what it meant to be part of this club, but she knew she was going to their first party. 

"Did you get one of these?" Lily asked James.

He reached into his pocket again and pulled out a scroll that looked exactly like hers. He waved it in front of her face, showing her that if she was going, so was he. And he would only be going, to bug Lily. He didn't really care about being part of Slughorn's stupid club.

"I did. But I don't know anyone else who's been invited. None of my boys got one. So we'll just have to see when we go to this party. You up for it?"

"We'll see, won't we?" 

"Ohhhh, sneaky are we. You know you're not going alone. You wouldn't be able to handle that. You know you're going to want me to escort you there," James said. 

"Just because I don't want to go alone, doesn't mean I want to go with you. It means I want to go with someone."

"But if you don't know anyone else that's going, you either go with me, or alone. I suggest you make up your mind."

"You'll know when I do," Lily said, turning her back and walking up the stairs that led to the girl's dormitory. She smirked to herself as she left James standing there, bewildered.

She reached her dormitory and found everyone else asleep already. Lily thought it was very strange, as it wasn't yet late. She shrugged and continued to the showers and then to bed. 

She had a lot to turn over in her mind. 

--

**So? What did you guys think? I hope you liked it. But I always say that. So leave me some feedback whether it was good or bad. I'd love to hear it. (: **


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